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Toradh — Spring
Published: 2013-05-11 15:48:02 +0000 UTC; Views: 2185; Favourites: 77; Downloads: 17
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3/4 of the coloured versions.This is one of those things I had had in mind for years, and I finally got round to do it. I wanted the initials to resemble the Book of Kells (which doesn‘t contain as many celtic knots as you‘d think), and it took me hours… and hours… and hours… and more hours… At least I‘ve finally kept my promise to do something else based on medieval book illumination.
The scanner wasn‘t kind to this one and made all those hues of light blue simply white, but I suppose you‘re already used to that. It also made the goldpaint a bit brownish, but that‘s something Photoshop can fix.
All the other issues in this painting are my own fault. Like, the kingfisher‘s enormous size. I have no idea WHY it is about the size of a full-grown harpy or something like that. Well, okay, I have an idea, because the birdie is already painfully small on the painting, the correct size of a kingfisher on a tree somewhere in the background would have been a drop of blue paint on the paper, and that would have been boring. But it‘s not like medieval book art would heed to perspective, so let‘s say it‘s deliberate (which in part it is, I‘d just like you to know that I‘m aware if the fact that kingfishers are actually tiny little birds).
It only ocurred to me when colouring that I could simply have drawn a branch in the FOREground and have the kingfisher sit on it. That would also have made it easier to detail the branch and make it recognisable as an apple-tree in bloom (Apples have so nice mythological connotations). I feel stupid. At least I like the initial, the mossy stones and the bloody checked cloth, which is certainly more important.
Anyway, spring is pretty straight-forward: water, creation and recreation, blues and greens. And a nicely celtic chalice for kicks. I resisted adding flowers, though. They‘re for the lady, not the lord of spring (yep, he‘s got a sister…).
I chose water instead of air to be the thematic element here. I know air is the traditional element for spring, but I associate water rather with recreation and the freshness of spring, not cold and icy winter. Yes, sure, snow is frozen water but… yeah, it‘s FROZEN water. Not liquid water. The association never quite worked for me.
Sorry, medieval lore. I just can‘t cope with water being the winter element. Water is the spring element. Don‘t argue with me.
Today‘s music suggestion: Eluveitie in general and especially Luxtos:
[link]
(all their songs are about (war in) Gaul, but hey, close enough)
People who don't like Folk Metal could go for the Secret of Kells OST instead (I'm so original).
Watercolour, bits of white acrylics, and goldpaint, and I used a reference for the kingfisher…
Detail shots:
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All four paitings as a photoset:
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I certainly forgot half of the symbolism choices I made here, but feel free to ask me anything!
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Comments: 30
Again a beautiful one. It is nice that each of the season is different, each has its own character (pun intended), not only in colour scheme, but in the whole style and execution, although they still form one series. This one is perhaps my favourite of them, I like how it feels so clean and fresh, appropriate for spring. And also the beautiful elegant shapes of the decorative letter.
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Thank you! Yes, it would have been kinda boring to do basically the same painting twice just with more or less leaves on any trees. But different colour schemes and moods work just fine for me
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Ah this is exquisite. I can certainly see the many hours of work you gave it.
The over all impression is a cross between Celtic manuscript and the more delicate kind of Japanese painting. There is the delicacy, the detail, the tree, a hint of a dragon, but most of all the sure touch of structure I see in all your work, even the earliest.
Now let's see what I found when I enlarged it in my editor.
From the top, there is of course the giant illuminated letter. The colours are well chosen, spacey blues, a warm pale apricot, and lovely varied greens. The big complex end of the letter top right suggests to me a luscious dragons; head.
I love the way you allow the texture of the paper to add depth to the colours, and your signature bleeding gradients. The bird is adorable: on close examination she has a juicy worm in her beak. Very much your style, that kind of detail.
The tree as I said evokes Japanese wall paintings in its delicacy. It is still quite bare, but has grown its first Spring growth of leaves. yet it also has blossom and small fruits. A Tree for all seasons, subtly there if we look. That is a Celtic tradition (ref. the Tree of Leaf and Flame).
From foreground we are drawn into the gentle spaces of Welsh/ irish hills, softly green. The lake is a very Celtic mythology, gateway to the Otherworld. There is even an island, also places of mysticism and mystery.
Our hero I think has been drinking mead, the golden drink of the gods. (See my post below on mead.) He has been called grumpy! but I suggest he is slightly fuzzy from this strong drink, and feeling the hiraeth, the longing, the lack of his true love.
His plaid cloak is beautifully painted. The artist always complains plaid is hard to display and so it is. But she does it wonderfully. Celtic nobles were entitled by law to wear more colours than the common folk. A king wore seven colours. His hair is poetically tousled, and he has strongly muscled arms. His arm rings are heavy gold, so a princely young man this one, and fine boots, and the neck torc confirms it. I want to catch him up ina cuddle and stroke the frown from his sweet face. His solid thighs suggest a different kind of fun.
More manuscript intricacy on the letter completes the bottom part, with a surprising touch of lavender silk. Then I look around and I can see hints of lavender above that make sense of it. The bottom finial (end point) has a kind of goddess symbol, with primeval eyes and breasts. She leaps out of its design or else out of the lake, which does happen in Celtic lakes. The ambiguity in the design is delightful. Is she intentional by the artist or not? Perhaps this is my vision not hers.
On the strong presence of water the artist defends, the classic association of Spring in the Four Elements, s Air. Dreaming thoughtfulness, reason, plans, decisions. All are present here. Its opposite element is Water, but water is always present in Celtic legend somewhere. We are a coastal people.
My only small criticism is that in two places, the top finial, and the one by the hero's face, the detail of celtic design could do with a little more precision. In the one by his face there are three circles, a triskele. It's a little unfinished. A dip into George Bain's classic book of Celtic design would help here, or search on triskele. The top finial has some small circles filled with radials which are roughly suggested, but do not follow Celtic tradition. My apologies to the artist but her detail is usually so perfect she makes me demanding for yet more perfection.
All together this is an exquisite work by an artist I am slowly and luxuriously exploring. Diolch yn fawr.
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Ah, thank you! This series of paintings indeed took me a quite a while to do, the lineart with the knotwork (even wonky as it is) even more so than the actual colouring process. And I didn’t even attempt to incorporate animal shapes in the knotwork, but it’s interesting that you see them, anyway! In hindsight, it would probably have made a lot of sense to include animals, considering how often they appear in medieval knotwork (and also for very personal worldbuilding reasons). Hm. Too late, I guess. As I take it from your commentary, it would be appreciated if I actually did detailed, clean knotwork the next time I attempt something like this, though!
And you actually think about this much more than I did! For example, I didn’t have a specific liquid for the chalice in mind. Be it mead or whatever. Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a detailed commentary! It’s great to see that people actually think way beyond the picture and imagine what might be happening or what kind of symbolism could be linked to individual elements.
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klasse Arbeiten !!! Wir sehen uns bestimmt einmal wieder !!!
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Diese Initialen sind alle ganz hinreißend, Franziska! Sehen wir uns im August beim Aquarellworkshop???
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Vermutlich nicht. Meine Planung für die Sommermonate ist ein einziges Chaos aus "vielleicht-vielleicht-aber-auch-nicht"-Terminen. Aber falls Jenny mich lässt würde ich wenigstens versuchen, euch abends zum Essen abzufangen, solange es mich noch keine Fahrtkosten kostet 
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Ach, ich finde nicht, dass die Größe des Eisvogels störend ist. Mir ist erst beim zweiten Hingucken aufgefallen, dass er eigentlich ziemlich riesig ist, aber er passt dennoch sehr schön an seinen Platz.
Die Farben finde ich fast ein wenig kühl für den Frühling, aber dennoch in sich stimmig.
Wieder ein sehr schönes Bild.
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Mir ist das mit dem Eisvogel ja auch erst beim Ausmalen aufgefallen – wie immer 
Ich hatte schon drauf gewartet, wann mal jemand fragt, ob die Farben nicht etwas kalt sind
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Ohja, das geht mir auch regelmäßig so, dass ich solche Sachen erst sehe, wenn's schon zu spät ist.
Aah, verstehe, das erklärt die Sache. Naja, es würde auch wunderbar zum diesjährigen hiesigen Frühling passen, von daher ...
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Dann hätt ich Regen reinmalen müssen
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Also das hier gefällt mir auch wieder sehr gut^^ Die Farben sind ja total meinem, und auch das mit dem Wasser <3
Und das mit den Eisvogel: Früher wurden ja auf den Bildern auch immer die Größen der Bedeutung nach verändert, wenn der Vogel also seeehr wichtig war XD
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Absolutely beautiful! About the kingfisher... oh well, that's just forced perspective
Is that honey in the goblet, or is that just water reflecting the "golden" surroundings? And why is the lord of Spring looking so grumpy?
I have to say I'm glad that I'm not the only one who... hm... doesn't always agree with medieval "elemental" lore.
And the detail work on the initial is just gorgeous again!
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The goblet could be holding mead, which is made from honey.
Mead can be any shade of gold, from brown gold to pale gold,
It's about the oldest alcoholic drink there is, and highly popular with Celtic peoples. The Gododdin warriors (9thC British saga probably describing a raid much earlier ) were feasted on mead before following their lord south into doomed battle.
From references like this mead is closely bound up with hospitality, feasting and romance. In Viking myth there are also references to mead-halls. Vikings did have cross links with Celtic cultures as the Vikings raided, traded ad settled all along the western coast of Britain, northern France, northern Spain - all Celtic lands.
Mead also has a history as the honeymoon drink to strengthen and pleasure new lovers.
Mead tastes divine so I recommend you try it! It's sweet due to honey, and there are different recipes gives various rich tastes. It's very strong so it's drunk more like brandy than wine. Do not overdo as it is deceptive due to its sweetness!
I am told it is fairly simple to make.
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I'm familiar with mead, thank you very much. Haven't drunk it in a while, but I've always meant to try making my own once I have honey enough to spare for it.
I was thinking about birch sap specifically because of the spring connotations. Mead, once made, stores pretty much forever, so it would be available all year long. But if it's supposed to be something that's typical for that time of the year, my first thought was birch sap. Lots of spring symbolism about the birch - in Celtic as well as in Germanic myth, and apparently also in Russia.
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"A properly recogniseable kingfisher is preferable to a blue speck in the background, anyway."
– I'm so glad you agree!
The liquid: I didn't really think about it, so it's probably simply water, but now that you're raising the topic, it should be translucent in that case. But it's not golden enough for honey… Hm maybe it's clover honey, that's quite bright…
As for looking grumpy. He wasn't supposed to. Rather thoughtful. I will try better next time
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Birch sap?
Maybe he actually looks thoughtful, and the thoughtfulness just got lost in translation so I mistake it for grumpiness. Cultural differences and all
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So my Russian co-students told me. Apparently, it's like maple syrup, only you get it from birches?
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Wikipedia says you can only get it in early spring and it doesn't store, and it's sweet and healthy, that sounds perfect. It should be translucent, though, but you can't have everything. Let's say it's birch sap.
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Well, the colour might just be a reflection of the golden sun.
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Or maybe water is just golden in this world, who knows
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Es ist wunderschön geworden. Die Farbgebung ist herrlich - passend zu meiner Lieblingsjahreszeit. ^^
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Dann hab' ich da ja richtig gemacht ^^. Ich mag blaue Bilder auch immer sehr und bin mit dem Farbschema hier sehr zufrieden, leider hat mir der Scanner mal wieder das Leben schwer gemacht.
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Ich finde, dass es trotz zickigem Scanner sehr schön aussieht.
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