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meluseena β€” His Liquid Grave

Published: 2009-09-01 09:29:09 +0000 UTC; Views: 6488; Favourites: 307; Downloads: 131
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Description Alas though it is true that many men of sailor persuasion enjoy a cold watery grave, for the ironically named Fortunato, it was the twin liquids of wine and sea that was to end him.

While shored in the little port of Amaretto, the sailor quite by chance met the youthful fairheaded James Fitzgerald, a solictor who had a practice in this bitter little sea-town. Prone to an acuteness of sensitivity, Fortunato fell desperately in love over a shared pint of ale and a wink. The pair mantained a week-long torrid love affair conducted mostly in the alleyway between The Salty Hook alehouse and Moby Dick Laundry.

But! While for our fair-haired solictor it was a very secret fling (he really intended to marry Miss Elizabeth Clare who came with a dowry and station) for Fortunato it was love.

One night Fortunato spotted Mr. Fitzgerald and Ms. Clare by their carraige, in the light of the gas lamps. Well doused in Ma'am Esme's famed gut-rotting homemade rosΓ© from the Salty Hook, he launched into a heart-rending proclamation of love that drew an amused crowd of lookie-loos from the alehouse.

And oh what treachery ensued! The youthful solictor denied any knowledge of poor drunk and swaying Fortunato, he denied even ever having seen him! After launching some well-placed and witty insults in poor Fortunato's direction, he scooped a bewildered Miss. Clare into the carraige and shot Fortunato a look of such disdain as would have felled even less sensitive sailors than our ineptly-named protagonist.

Rocked with woe and ridiculed by his fellows from the alehouse, Fortunato wandered to the pier and took to drinking more and more rosΓ© till in drunken folly he fell in and never rose above the surface. Vito McCarthy, who watched it happen from the alehouse's grimy windows, swears he saw the tentacle arm of the local seamonster curl about Fortunato's ankle and pull him in. But he was well in his cups and some say, even on his sober days, he's never really there, you know.

All they ever found of Fortunato was his hat washed-up on the shingle, and it it is said that his ghost roams Amaretto still, so that he became something of a celebrity in death. His hat was sold at an impromptu auction in market-day, and was bought for stupid amounts of money by a mysterious cloaked and hatted solicitor, to be lamented and wept on later in private, no doubt.





:art of a new series I am working on :::
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Technique:

This is largely airbrushed, with some photo texture. Done in Photoshop CS II.

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Print:
Get a print, signed, from my Etsy shop!
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Comments: 38

wtfanne [2011-08-10 23:50:56 +0000 UTC]

This would make an great tattoo!

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0-dot-0 [2010-09-26 03:18:08 +0000 UTC]

This is absolutely beautiful!

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TheTinyHobo [2010-08-14 00:15:00 +0000 UTC]

My God, your artwork is so beautiful and full of life! I am in love with this poor thing's story. You did a great job painting this--I especially like the pink tones in his skin. This image really stands out!

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meluseena In reply to TheTinyHobo [2010-08-14 15:15:27 +0000 UTC]

<3 Thank you

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whoistoknow [2010-01-10 04:47:29 +0000 UTC]

Wow this is absolutely beautiful. That is all I can say right now. I'm stunned and this masterpiece.

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sissycatafalque [2009-12-16 12:43:49 +0000 UTC]

I love it!

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maleekmonroe [2009-10-04 07:23:55 +0000 UTC]

so cute, so amazing

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Malamox [2009-09-27 20:37:58 +0000 UTC]

You should write a whole book about this!

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livegreen92 [2009-09-24 20:50:35 +0000 UTC]

the combination of story and image makes this phenominal...

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ptpeach [2009-09-12 19:00:09 +0000 UTC]

*applause*
Wonderful story and beautiful painting!

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donella [2009-09-11 00:17:42 +0000 UTC]

love his tone skin and expression

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Mardi-Malt [2009-09-07 20:54:47 +0000 UTC]

wonderful!!!!

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heyindianapolis [2009-09-07 02:55:36 +0000 UTC]

Absolutely beautiful,
and wonderful concept.


Job well done

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bodang [2009-09-04 05:43:39 +0000 UTC]

Best of both worlds: a gorgeous painting and a fantastic story that comes with!

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leonardobarros [2009-09-03 17:03:21 +0000 UTC]

love!

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Mai-Moon [2009-09-03 11:42:33 +0000 UTC]

Wow! Awesome your drawing!

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Maionara [2009-09-02 14:29:26 +0000 UTC]

Awesome!

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joeyv7 [2009-09-02 13:15:01 +0000 UTC]

Poor, innocent Fortunato

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justinnsaur [2009-09-01 23:41:29 +0000 UTC]

I quote enjoyed this tale,
even though it ended so bitterly for Fortunato!

I personally think the grey background sets the
mood of the picture, considering it reminds me of
an eerie coastal town blanketed in grey clouds.

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meluseena In reply to justinnsaur [2009-09-03 08:27:52 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!
I quite like the grey background too you know.. that was exactly my idea, with eerie coastal town etc... but perhaps it does need a bit of texture oomph.

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UrsulaDecay [2009-09-01 20:56:04 +0000 UTC]

i love this the story the colors everything the grey and his skin tone are just lovley ^u^<3

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The-Unchanging-Lady [2009-09-01 18:21:26 +0000 UTC]

Poor poor Fortunato.
I love the picture, he looks so hopeless!
I also love the story behind it, it is so enticing and so sad!

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rosalarian [2009-09-01 18:18:42 +0000 UTC]

I love the whole entire thing, from the pose, to the colors, to the painterly technique. But I don't like the grey background. It seems to clash with everything else.

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meluseena In reply to rosalarian [2009-09-01 20:47:49 +0000 UTC]

Hmmm I DO see what you might mean, I might be spurred to experiment with different colour schemes, though I am personally quite fond of the greyness - perhaps a small addition of texture will alleviate the 'clashing' you refer to hmmm.

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rosalarian In reply to meluseena [2009-09-02 00:44:37 +0000 UTC]

Don't get rid of the grey. I think all it needs is a warmer grey. A brown-based grey makes the colors pop more than a green-based grey like you've got, and still looks grey.
But again, it's all my own opinion. And I think part of why I feel so strongly about the grey is because of how awesome everything else is, it makes the one less-than-awesome thing seem even more clash-ey.

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meluseena In reply to rosalarian [2009-09-03 08:29:56 +0000 UTC]

That's rather interesting.
Is your monitor calibrated?
It's a warm grey - also, do you use Firefox or are you on a colour-managed browser? Is your monitor wide-gamut?
Just thinking that it is likely here that you are not seeing what is intended.

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rosalarian In reply to meluseena [2009-09-03 15:55:41 +0000 UTC]

Ooh, I'd be in some trouble if it was my monitor. But I don't think it is. I've looked at it at home and at work, and the colors are the same.
I took a sample of the background into photoshop to take a look. It is a pretty greeney-grey.

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meluseena In reply to rosalarian [2009-09-05 22:57:21 +0000 UTC]

If it were a monitor or profile (web browser) issue, it would be the same in photshop, anyways nevermind (though I advise any digital artist to get their montiors calibrated)

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Hagenees [2009-09-01 17:19:15 +0000 UTC]

Lovely image !
You should contact the dutch publisher Lemniscaat in Rotterdam for illustrationwork. I am sure they would love to work with you !

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meluseena In reply to Hagenees [2009-09-01 20:41:22 +0000 UTC]

Thanks for the tip!!

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str4yk1tt3n [2009-09-01 15:48:02 +0000 UTC]

wonderful! I love the accompanying story!

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meluseena In reply to str4yk1tt3n [2009-09-01 20:41:35 +0000 UTC]

whee! Thanks dear

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EmmaMount [2009-09-01 13:40:15 +0000 UTC]

i am so in love with this picture, and the lengths you have gone to tell his sorry tale
the perfect fairytale package

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meluseena In reply to EmmaMount [2009-09-01 20:42:03 +0000 UTC]

Someday I might have a book of these little titbits.. it would be an interesting alternative for people to buy, for those that don't like to buy prints!

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EmmaMount In reply to meluseena [2009-09-02 14:09:47 +0000 UTC]

oh it would be the best of both worlds
you know how to weave a perfect tale of woe, and have the talent to illustrate it too
i would buy one for sure!

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moonhmz In reply to meluseena [2009-09-02 03:10:02 +0000 UTC]

I think its great - both the art and the story. The tale is really well told. It's really sad. A book would definitely be an option. I love books

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eli-law [2009-09-01 09:58:59 +0000 UTC]

gorgeous work, i love his expression

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alebat [2009-09-01 09:32:13 +0000 UTC]

beautiful painting skills <3

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