Woven Song by Arikla

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 03:46:23 -0000

Piece done for Mr. Adolphson's 3x5 card collection. Very nice fellow to do work for.

Medium: Watercolor and Colored Pencil
Tags: fox celtic knotwork whistle

Peaceful Harper by Arikla

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 03:14:38 -0000

Finally done. This piece is huge, about 20X30 and currently the largest I have done to date. Watercolor and colored pencil. Unfortunately lost alot of detail in the scan due to the size change But, it's done, and I am rather happy with it. Any odd lines or color shifts most likely due to me having to piece this together from scanner. Originally intended to be part of a series of four that would have the boarder done here proceed all around, but have yet to get teh ambition for a piece this big back :P

Medium: Colored Pencil and Watercolor
Tags: harp barnacle goose

He Made a Harp of Her Breastbone by Arikla

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 03:01:35 -0000

Image inspired by Loreena McKennitt's "Bonny Swans" Especially the line about the harp... "He made harp pins of her fingers fair with a hey ho and a bonny o He made harp strings of her golden hair the swans swim so bonny o He made a harp of her breast bone with a hey ho and a bonny o And straight it began to play alone the swans swim so bonny o" Not so easy to make a harp out of a breastbone, though. The top part is bird pelvis Note: I am aware there are several variations on the song, and that it is based originally off of an older story. Loreena McKennitt's version sticks in my mind the most, however, so that is why it is listed as inspiration.

Medium: Watercolor and Colored Pencil
Tags: Swan harp bone

Art Imitates Life by Arikla

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 03:00:38 -0000

I am still having fun with these Esher-esqu images. I am rather pleased with how this fellows fur turned out, and the hummingbirds.

Medium: Watercolor and Colored Pencil
Tags: wolf anthro anthropomorphic hummingbirds escher

The Edge of Beyond by Arikla

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 02:59:41 -0000

Finally finished with this one (I think) I love the fur and the wings, but not as thrilled with the background Photo reference from a trip I took to Caanan Valley, WV many many years ago.

Medium: Watercolor and Colored Pencil
Tags: wolf winged valley

Snow Cat by Arikla

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 02:58:28 -0000

2004 Holiday card

Medium: Watercolor
Tags: snow leopard christmas

Snow Tiger by Arikla

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 02:57:07 -0000

2004 Holiday Card. I hand-made them this year, and there were a few I was rather proud of how they turned out.

Medium: Watercolor
Tags: Tiger snow christmas

Breaking Through by Arikla

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 02:54:54 -0000

Been working to get this one finished for awhile. Mostly, the colors were taking a long time. There is no black in this image, actually, what you percieve as black is a mix of Indigo Blue, Dark Green, and Crimson Red over a water color base of a similar mix. The white highlights and accents were done using acrylic paint. Overall, I am quite pleased with the finished result.

Medium: Watercolor and Colored Pencil
Tags: wolf glass bars prison

Black Velvet Band by Arikla

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 02:53:48 -0000

Based on a traditional Irish song of the same title: (Chorus) "And her eyes they shone like the diamonds, you'd swear she was queen of the land. Her hair hung over her shoulder, tied up with a black velvet band." Traditional Irish song about a man who goes out drinking, meets a beutiful woman in the bar (who steals a watch and slips it into his pocket) then gets caught with the watch and is sent to "VanDiemen's Land" (Austrailia). Fun song, and a fun piece to work on. Not happy with the background, the perspective is off, but the fox, I like her

Medium: Colored Pencil and Watercolor
Tags: fox irish bar wench

Outcasts of Gwynedd by Arikla

Sun, 05 Nov 2006 20:34:32 -0000

In Welsh mythology, specifically a story from the Mabinogion, there is Gilvaethwy and his cousin Gwydion. The short story is that they ticked off Math (one of the Welsh Gods) and thus were turned into a hind and stag for a year, then a boar and a sow, then a pair of wolves. Living as each animal for a year and returning to Math with thier offspring. Never tick off a god... not only will they change you into animals, but they will change your gender and place you in incestuous relationships too!

Medium: colored pencil, watercolor, gold ink pen
Tags: deer mythology wolf boar

Children of Lir by Arikla

Sun, 05 Nov 2006 20:31:59 -0000

Lir was lord of the sea in Ancient Ireland, in the time of the Tuatha de Dannan. He had four children. His first wife died while giving birth to the two youngest children, however, and Lir eventually married her sister, Aoife. Aoife became jelouse of her sister's children, however, and turned them into swans. They were cursed to swim as swans for 900 years, 300 years each on different lakes. To end the spell, they had to hear the bell toll for the new God of Ireland. At the end of the 900 years, a holy man visited the lake and spoke to the swans. Upon learning of the curse and how to break it, he tolled teh bell of the church and the curse was broken. But as the children returned to human form, they also began to age the 900 years spent prior and died soon after the spell was broken. This is ment to be at the point of transformation.

Medium: Colored Pencil and Watercolor
Tags: mythology transformation swans lir irish

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