Of Superheros and Monks

I recently completed a couple of projects and thought I would share.

First, is Harold the Great.  He was completely spontaneous.  This is unusual for me.  Typically, I think of a project and carry it around in my head for at least a couple of weeks, plotting how I will make it, troubleshooting hypothetical problems before they arise.  But Harold just popped out.  He makes me smile.

And here's Nick with Harold.  They have a complicated relationship.

 The next project I finished this week is a watercolor painting.  I modeled it after an illumination from a 13th/14th-century codex that purported to depict a medieval minnesänger.  I made a few changes - mostly eliminating some knightly symbols (I kept the falcon, 'cause he's cool) and painting the whole thing gold.  I get a deep joy out of using my gold paint so liberally.  The original is at left.  My version is at right.

And, because I enjoy looking at other people's process pictures, here's a couple of me at work.

Mostly because someone already purchased this painting off of Etsy (a friend-someone, but still), I have given a lot of thought to the legitimacy of using a previous work of art in this manner.  Perhaps it is my medieval history background, but given that I openly reference my source and that these are centuries-old, largely unattributed works from a time period in which copying in many forms was de rigeur...well, I guess I feel like I am working in that same tradition.  Also, I am learning.  I have looked at a wealth of medieval art over the years and finally felt confident enough to try my hand at this style.  So I used some expert guidance - those monkish badasses who produced such amazing art in the first place.  Soon, my next project in fact, I will be departing from the work of previous illuminators and attempting something more completely original.  Anyway, I wanted these thoughts to be evidenced somewhere out in the open, so that I don't feel like I'm misleading anyone, because that's certainly not my intention.  Additionally and irrelevantly, for whatever my aesthetic opinion is worth, I like mine better than the original.  It's all that gold paint, dammit!  Plus my brushwork is subtler.  *ahem*

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