expression

IS difficult to render with any amount of dynamism. so static... unlike teh original charcoal sketch... maybe this is the price to pay for paint, or i need to work harder... anyway, on with the extremeties!

riba riba riba!

...and so.... the end is nigh....neigh...nigh...

riba riba riba!

...and so.... the end is nigh....neigh...nigh...

paint paint paint

Palette knife, white oil paint, toned down background, losing definition and finding light and shadow, now it all hangs on the execution of the face and body, and the mulberries, and bloody smears all over it all... nice...

sorrow (father) joy (horse) and fear (girl)

Atmosphere is everything with this piece! Such a macabre story requires a special touch with colour and light to convey the variety of intense emotions of the three principal characters. Adding the flesh tones and beginning to work on the Mulberry tree foliage and fruit, and the peonies in the fore. I like the way my yukka almost blends into the picture. Thinking will need some texturising agent for the horsehide to really emphasize its leathery drape.

Begin to think that this story is not so much a legend of the silkworm but a deeply disturbed tale of a fathers fears for his daughter...

flowering foliage batman!

I decided a more yellow garb for the father would bring a sunnier aspect to the peice, so adding layers of ochre and sunflower yellow. Decided on a pink robe for the foolish lassie and a purple obi to echo the father's. The next image will feature the transformation of the girl starting at her feet and fingertips, illustrating the phasing of her into a silkworm, and the hair of the horse wrapping itself into a cocoon around her. Also the peonies in the foreground echo the pink of the obi and the texture of the mountains. As the foliage grows around her a similar effect will manifest in the integration of human to animal.