Ridiculously, I was hoping that this week's topic would be "angel", since it was Christmas Eve and all and I was working on an angel picture, but I'm going to post an angel anyway, since they seem to go with winter. You make snow angels, and you sing about angels in Christmas carols, and angels are much more on your mind than in the muggy summer days.
This is a nyckelharpa angel. A friend of mind commented on an earlier picture ("Fiddle with the Devil") that the fiddle is always associated with the devil, and was banned in the churches of many European countries, the nyckelharpa is often depicted with angels. There are tapestries in old churches showing angels playing nyckelharpa. Of course my friend is a nyckelharpa player rather than a fiddler, so he might be a bit biased.
So this is my nyckelharpa angel. It brings to mind more lines, my favorite lines from "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"--about "the angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold", and :"the world in silent stillness lay, to hear the angels sing".....
This work has a beautiful movement to it. I almost thought I saw her fingers moving!
ReplyDeleteThe nyckelharpa isn't an instrument that you see every day. Does it sound like a violin?
I am fascinated by angels lately, this one of yours is a very nice one!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful angel! Its quiet tricky to draw wings that look balanced and realistic but you master it well. I'm doing a tattoo tomorrow which uses angel wings as part of the design so its good inspiration. Happy Christmas.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteWow, I love the illustration AND I learned some angel lore!
ReplyDeleteOne of my pleasures is enlarging your work and savoring the lines and splatters and rich detail.
ReplyDeleteI love all of the fiddle series~wow! You've been doing some wonderful drawings. Love the dream series too.
I hope your stress is sneaking out the back door ;)
Awesome. I love the expressions on all your faces. Do you start with pencil or jump right in with ink? Are you using a fountain pen?
ReplyDeleteAmy--I usually start off with a pencil sketch, right on the paper I'm going to do the final thing on. I think it'd be better if I made more complete sketches, but I don't have the patience for it. Usually I use a pen that I dip in ink, but this one was technical pens (they're better for working on things away from home).
ReplyDeleteI just found your site but I'll be back for sure. Love the angels!
ReplyDeleteWow what beautiful detail to your work. There are so many lines, yet you manage to keep a certain light-ness in the image.
ReplyDeleteHappy new year - I look forward to seeing what is to come!
Hey Theresa! I love angels and your is terrific! Great guess for the theme... and yes angels go very well with the winter theme. Love your line work! Fabulous! Happy New Year!!!
ReplyDeleteSo detailed and Beautiful! Happy New Year! :D Great work!
ReplyDeletebeautiful...I like your economy of line and cross-hatching technique!
ReplyDeleteI love how rich and adventurous your shadings and splatters are! I think I would be too much of a chicken to shade my drawings that expressively. Well done!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for that very kind comment on my ACEO post! :)
Wonderful image! Thank you also for commenting my deja vu illustration on my newborn blog.
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