It’s been a weird few months for everyone on the planet. I’m starting this blog just as everyone is sheltering in place – something that we’re all learning about as we go along. The Covid 19 outbreak is hard to escape right now, whether in the news or in my own brain. Starting this blog is something productive I’m doing to cope with feelings of isolation that somehow have gotten even more isolated.
That solitude seemed even more complete this weekend when here in lower Michigan, we got hit with a late snow storm. It managed to pile up about three inches on the porch railing before disappearing the very next day when the temperature swung back up to the balmy fifties. If we were still doing such crazy things as going to the store or talking to the neighbors, no one would be able to shut up about it. I kind of miss it, frankly, so I’m sharing Spring snow with the world.
This was started in my sketchbook a long time ago, but I figure that now is the perfect time to share it. It was inspired by Katherine Arden’s Winternight Triology, which takes place in medieval Russia and draws brilliantly from Russian folklore. I wanted to capture a fairy tale spirit, but instead of referencing anything magical directly, I wanted to hint at the protective idea behind a “blanket of snow”. I love the shapes of dry meadow flowers and trees with naked branches- they have a delicate quality that I wanted to contrast with the sort of peaceful darkness with the snow.
I’m not so bothered by weird anatomy in this one, since I wanted to stylize the figure with the big eyes and pursed mouth of medieval Russian icons. She might have landed a bit in the land of “intense creepy doll”, but hey, I don’t mind those anyway.