The Tree of Darkness

Tree of Darkness
Well of death
In the woods
Is where they rest
Far within
Through tangled trees
The fairies guard
By all their means
Hidden secret
In magick grove
Is where you find
The dark things grow
Sliver of bark
Laced with dew
Shall be the end
The end of you.

From "The Fairie's Crossroad"
Copyright 2005 The Artist Muse

New years banner: EMMA'S

Ah. working during the holiday's drives me crazy but its part of the job. I've decided that 2006 is going to be a strong year. So I'm filling up on a big plate of work.

This peice is all vector/illustrator. It makes it extremely easy for the printer's. It's 3' x 8' to hang outside the club for the week. There is so much more I could do with it, but I got the job yesterday and it was needed by today. So you have to sacrifice alot of the great idea's to the demon of speed, and be happy with a "It will do." inside yourself.

In a nutshell. It all comes down to artist vs. designer - What you want to do for yourself vs. what is the concept and best interest of your client.

Another christmas eve chained to the drawing board.

Santa better not bring me coal again, (wink). I've only been moderately naughty this year.

"The Gift"

For Illustration Friday: Holiday

What if you could bottle up all your good wishes and give it to someone special. Who would your give yours to?

Have a happy holidays everyone.

The Artist Muse

Leave me alone! I'm almost done!

Illustration for this weeks topic of "Imagine" for Illustration Friday Webblog.

When the Imagination calls to an Artist there's no stopping it, period.

The Artist Muse

Hepshupset 

Probe cover: Hepshupset

This cover of the first female pharaoh was created from multiple sources of reference. Originally the plan was just to use the center piece as the whole cover, but as I continued to look at it I wanted to pull back from the design. After visiting a local museum I found the look I wanted; that of a painting being illuminated as a center piece in a dark museum. As I worked with the lettering I wanted it to have the feel of Egypt so I gave it the look of buildings in the desert silhouetted against a low sun. I used a noise filter for the sand.

Hepshupset wore a fake beard during her reign. In the end her name and images were destroyed as an attempt to erase her from history. This is just a small fraction of what is known I highly encourage you to watch or read something on her life. She is an example of overcoming one's obstacles no matter the odds. Carpe Diem good reader.

"The Fairy Clock"

I created the fairy clock from bedtime stories I use to tell my daughter, Jessica. In the story two troublesome fairies by the names of Frick and Frack break the original ancient clock of the fairies and then proceed to put it back together again. Needless to say time in the fairy world was never the same. The queen of the fairies finds out about the catastrophe and banishes the twosome from the fairy realm. The clock maker to the queen tells her the damage is beyond repair. The queen decides to have a second clock added so as to tell the time deference between the human realm and the fairy realm. It is said the hourglass between the two clocks is the full life of the world and when the sands are close to running out the fairies know to move on to the next world for this ones life is done. Unfortunately before leaving Frick and Frack steal the damaged clock and set out on a journey to find someone to fix it. It is said that they could only carry it so far and left it in a human closet and locked the door. They wanted to be able to check on the clock from time to time so they enchanted a mirror and placed it in the closet with the clock so from any reflective surface they could gaze in on it. It was a good plan except for two mishaps: 1) Frack lost the map to the human’s house while flying over a dark wood. 2) Frick faced the mirror toward the back side of the clock so the only thing visible is the sands of the hourglass.

So if passing through a dark wood one day and you happen to find an ancient map, or you open a door to an old closet in your house and find a strange two faced clock with an hourglass between them. I know of two fairies who would desperately like to buy it.

The Fairy Clock