Connecting Water and Heaven - Tree Post V

The Infinity Tree, the tree bridge, merges water and sky through the realms of Ether.

Or so many origin myths allude.

This tree is the vision. We have the final drawing stage for this iteration, precursor to the painting, and a part of the Tree Bridge series.

I'm showing the final drawing, but also, I have some more conceptual roughs to shed some light on. These additional process sketches came out of the process for the painting, now beginning its fresh life on the studio board.

From the last tree post, IV, here's the rest of the development in rendering the drawing out:

"The Infinity Tree"

Final drawing with graphite and graphite wash on hot press, 10x15".

I do not have this framed yet, as the final drawing frame is a special project in itself. I'm building it out of not-so-standard materials for a unique finish. More for that along with the painting development!

I still need to make full size scans, as well.

Pre-Orders for art prints of the drawing are available now.

Contact me directly for interest here

But then there are those conceptual roughs that I peppered throughout the process of this drawing development.

To shake the creative process up a bit, and keep the blood oxygenated nicely along the way, these were done in mixed media on drawing paper, with the tempting gold leaf touch.

Here are some process and detail samples:

Notice, these concept roughs are all not only mixed media, but an abstraction of representational tree form, designed and gestural, each at approximately 5x7".

There will be more on the development in future application of these rough trees.

On to the Infinity Tree painting, for this project!

-Mairin-Taj

"What's Inspiring Now" - Contemporary Figurative Artists

Figurative art is indeed on the rise within popular appeal, yet again, and with a bit of a reboot in creative drive.

Here's not too short (nor too long) a list of contemporary artists that I have been looking at lately, inspiring fresh verve on new art projects and coming future creative investments.

Zin Lim's drawings are an expressive, gestural draw for me, pun intended:

saatchiart.com/Zinlim

Instagram

Figure#D04 - by Zin Lim

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Vanessa Lemen, enough said:

vanessalemenart.blogspot.com

Instagram

'Lady of Mermaid Inn' - by Vanessa Lemen - 2016

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Tyler Vouros:

tylervouros.com

Instagram

'Athena Owl' - by Tyler Vouros, 2015

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Stanka Kordic's artwork visits from between worlds:

stankakordic.com

Instagram

'Leila and the Wren' - by Stanka Kordic - 2016

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I've always loved graphite - I would say it is still as yet my favorite choice medium to work with - and I have discovered Mandy Tsung feels the same - On Instagram, of course.

Here's some Mandy Tsung for you:

mandytsung.tumblr.com

Instagram

"Feral Love" - Mandy Tsung - 2015

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João Ruas:

joaoruas.com

Instagram 

'Godiva' - by Joao Ruas, 2013

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Johan Barrios:

johanbarrios.com

Instagram

'Lo Efimero' - by Johan Barrios

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Frank Top:

franktopart.com

Instagram

'Bird Watcher' - by Frank Top, 2015

I'll close this inspiration-themed post with a quote I've found through more art means, about the practice of art in lifestyle:

"To capture through art a fragment of our collective experience. To discover deep meaning and deep thought, the joy of creative expression. We move through life with grace, ethics and spirituality, and relearn daily through our art to cherish humanity and our natural world."
—Valerie Kent

Happy creating!

-Mairin-Taj

"It's Like Drawing People" - Tree Post II

Ever since my mother (also an artist) pointed it out to me via the book 'Castles', Alan Lee's artwork has been an integral inspiration to my own. His drawing temperament spoke resonantly to my natural inclinations, and even before my teenage years, I began to "look closer", because of Alan Lee. I know many artists who've been driven in their own work by Alan Lee's, just as strongly. He's A Great!

Continuing on with these tree posts for this project with my "Infinity Tree", I've revisited some of my favorite quotes from the master of trees in the 'The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook' - Some things to keep in mind and to be inspired by anew - In Lee's words:

"I love drawing trees and forests. It is like drawing people with an endless capacity to stretch and twist, their history recorded in every scar and irregularity - and they hold their pose for years! invented woodlands, informed by spending long hours sketching in real ones, gave me an opportunity to draw and design with freedom as well as delicacy, as long as I remembered that trees have an anatomy too."

"The competing forces that affect the growth of a tree - gravity, wind, and the need for light - can be read on the contortions of branches and the form of the trunk. Like skin, bark only partially conceals the structure underneath, and in old trees bark is frequently rotted or broken away. Drawing trees is more an act of empathy than analysis, though, and I seem to find it a little easier now than I did when I was a sapling."

I love the notion that to interpret a tree - or any living thing - via drawing, is more an act of empathy than analysis. I'm always seeking the moments throughout the creative process, the drawing, the painting and capturing of light and gesture, structure, etc., moments within that can balance empathy and analysis, so to keep the two dimensional artwork living, breathing, engaging, emotive, and certainly from my personal experience.

So with my Infinity tree, I'm eager to convey, one;

- the merged imagined and referenced technical analysis of the tree's anatomy,

as well as, two;

- the sense of it's enigmatic character explored with empathetic and gestural pencil work...

If that makes sense.

I've been admiring and considering some formerly accomplished main character trees of the drawn or painted page, by other artists:

This example of ancient Norse myth, featuring Odin thrusting a sword into Branstock in the hall of Volsung, as illustrated by the legendary English artist Alan Lee (and from his book 'Castles'):

Illustrated by Alan Lee, 'Castles', 1984, all rights Alan Lee

Or this stunning work illustrating "Jason and the Talking Oak", by the legendary Maxfield Parrish:

Maxfield Parrish, 1910

Here, a 'natural world' version of the subject entitled "Oak Tree on a Northern Beach", painted by Leopold Rothaug:

Leopold Rothaug, 1924

And again referencing legend in this illustration of "Giant Velles Protecting the Ancient Oak Tree" painted by Serbian-born master painter Petar Meseldzija: 

Copyright and Illustrated by Petar Meseldzija, 2014

There are myths of dangerous trees in cultures across the world, as in this plate illustrated from J W Buel's 'Sea and Land', a Madagascan man-eating tree called "Ya-Te-Veo" ('I see you'):

Illustrated by A.W., 1887

Or this religious woodland, "Harpies in the Forest of the Suicides", as from the notorious Dante's Inferno, here engraved by Gustave Dore:

Engraved by Gustave Dore, 1861

Notice how all of these trees in some way merge two worlds, be they literal or metaphorical, most definitely ethereal, and physical. I'm after that in my own piece, for certain. The tree as "bridge".

I am excited for the next batch of work on this project!

Back to others, first, though.

-Mairin-Taj

"And Then There Are the Secrets of the Trees" - Tree Post I

“And then there are the secrets of the trees.” –David Friend

It has been my resolution to reconsider, actively, the icon and the reality of the tree, and utilize both more in my work.

This is a relatively easy realization or observation to put forth, but it struck me as peculiar how my love for the giants of our natural world still has yet to translate into my visual vocabulary with any fluency. You would think whatever holds our affection, and fascination, would be an automatic integral part of our creations, but in my case, with trees, not so much.

While I continue to explore for myself why that is, the point here is that more reading, visual art exploration, and continued in-person observation on trees has been working steadily, increasingly, back into my daily process.

In particular, I’ve waited not too patiently these past few months to develop a concept to completion through a multi-product process that indulges the tree as the sole subject. I’ve been given an opportunity to work with it finally, and so, in tandem with the other gallery show work, I’m going to see what I can manage with this long standing idea.

It started with two words: ‘tree bridge’

{Read about using words and language as the beginning of conceptual techniques here}

This was put down on paper as an intentionally loose, playful, and ‘note-taking’ large scale thumbnail sketch, that I came home from one of my jobs to scribble down in the sketchbook, and looked like this:

I received repeat positive response to this initial exploration through social media and from person to person critique amongst art friends. When I talked about my interest to develop it further into a large-scale drawing and then painting, I was encouraged as well.

Now, I’ve been psyching myself up for the next approach to this concept, a large, decent drawing, with further studies and references to the tree, in both art and fact.

One of my favorite books on trees is by James Balog, an adventurous photographer, whose work marries science and poetic artistry into a project of inspiring power. I’ve owned this book for a while, and gifted it to a few photographers I know:

Tree: A New Vision of the American Forest

I’ve reread much of it and poured over his stunning photography within it’s pages for the millionth time, this last pass focusing more deliberately on connections to my own project vision.

John Muir, a naturalist involved with the Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks, said, “To the outer ears these trees are silent, [yet] their songs never cease. Every hidden cell is throbbing with music and life, every fiber thrilling like harp strings”. 

I am certain I am not the only one to feel that we are encountering something ‘knowing’ and dynamic when we take in the presence of a tree, such is the impact of so many years active within one seemingly statuesque figure.

James Balog himself writes in his book “Tree”, paired with one of his compiled photographs of a gorgeous, ancient angel oak, “I can’t help wonder who truly is the observer and who is the observed. While we watch them, do they gaze back at us? It is easy to understand the reciprocity of the visual exchange when a creature has eyes. Does a plant have some other sense that we mammals lack the capacity to understand?”…. It’s a sense we get sometimes, anyways; “this forest has eyes”, we say, when venturing forth into the unknown woodland, perhaps feeling as if we are somehow observed by the strange beings standing all around us like a freeze-frame militia party.

I want to impart something of those non-existent “eyes” into the piece I am developing here, a personified presence as if wisdom and eons of observing us tiny, flimsy, fleeting Homo sapiens is retained within the colossus standing patiently therein.

Normal trees can get truly massive in scale compared to us humans, let alone mythical and metaphorical ones such as the famous Yggdrasil from Norse mythology. I’m referencing the latter kind of tree, something of epic and ethereal proportions, so I want to tackle the challenge of stepping back and sizing up such a thing within the confines of a composition.

Balog observes, “If, as Wallace Stegner said, ‘Space is a place with no memory’, then a great tree infuses empty space with memory and turns it into a place, creating a bridge between civilization and wildest wilderness”.

My ‘tree bridge’, now dubbed ‘The Infinity Tree’ as the working title, needs to grow into a space that holds a sense of place at once unbreachable and venerable. A being imperative to bridge two dimensions through it’s own existence. A vertical union, communion, a pillar of light, water, life force, and integrity, that is what this epic tree drawing should be about.

By extension, I want to impart that long held connection to the god-world that we’ve assumed of trees into the drawing. In our awe of the elegant, expansive, symbolic strength of the oak tree, for example, it’s character would be a good element to work with. As Balog writes, “Lightning strikes oak more often than it does other species. To ancient cultures, this made oak appear to be conduits for bringing the power of the sky gods down to earth. Accordingly, the trees were held in great reverence”.  The Celts, for example, not only recognized natural patterns associated with trees and the elements, but honored the trees as a system of symbols for virtues and values in life. They had a tree ‘alphabet’, called ogham, which was their only known form of written documentation in the culture. Oak, one of the most prominent of the native trees in their iconography, represented strength and integrity.

With reference from the oak, I’ll pull in inspiration from other appealing trees that lend a more universal final figure to the drawing’s subject. It shouldn’t be a certain kind of tree, but a tree of all trees, beyond any human identification system.

That's all for now. More to come on this tree installment shortly.

Happy creating!

-Mairin-Taj

"Scrap Sneaks" - The Infinity Tree

In the middle of chipping away at the involving, consuming, slightly perplexing concept for an upcoming painting aiming at a conference cross country (more to come on that), I felt a tug in a playful segue, and started sketching down a fat tree trunk in my sketchbook...

I was working off of the serendipitous key words, "Yggdrasil", and "tree bridge".

I know, it sounds random. But anything rooted in mythos is fuel, for me...pun intended.

*On a side note, I've been gently annoyed with myself for the past several months at how much I do not have trees in my developing new work, or much in my old work, either. I'd like to remedy that gross oversight, on my part, by factoring in the very inspiring, diverse, and important icon of the tree into what is coming. So it felt freeing and very much heading in the right direction to lay down marks reminiscent of tree anatomy again.

The following evolved swiftly, with little formula, and through a few light layers of mixed media - I've got graphite (my favorite), colored pencil, matte medium, acrylic paint, and gold leaf, here.

This might be a more clear vantage point - 2015

Working title jotted at the top, I intend for a larger, more mature and evolved direction for this idea, but I simply wanted to get the idea down in an experimental fashion before I mused on the future applications of the concept.

Sometimes it can be drastically dangerous to young ideas to think on them too long. It may be an obvious thing to say, to write down so definitely here, but I wouldn't be surprised if we all needed such simple reminders on a regular basis.
For my part, I can overanalyze before I put enough work into a piece, and I'm actively, consciously working on amending that for myself.

It's going well!

Back to the sketch - I found myself, in the fluid process of drawing on the page, working in an infinity figure eight into the trunk of the tree as gently as possible, while trying to maintain a plausible growth direction for the limbs, and such.

Merging water and the ether sky, this vertical "bridge" is a concept I'm going to be revisiting again, as other projects allow.

-Mairin-Taj

Welsh Trilogy - Drawing Three {Owl} - "Blodeuwedd" 'Flower Face' Owl goddess of Spring {And Final Triptych}

{To learn more about the background of this trilogy inspiration, content material, mythological context, and over all goal, Read the first blog post of this series - "drawing one" - featuring Arawn, Lord of the Underworld, HERE
...
Read the second blog post of this series - "drawing two" - featuring Rhiannon, goddess of Horses and the Hunt, HERE}

*The triptych of all finished works will be shown at the end.

-

Our last installment, and our last drawn Welsh immortal, is Blodeuwedd.

Pronounced arguably as 'blod-EYE-weth' or 'blo-day-wathe', she was created from the flowers of oak, broom, and meadowsweet blooms by two great magicians to be the most beautiful bride for the great hero Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Her name means 'flower-face', essentially.

Over the course of her story, she is transformed once more, this time into an owl, as punishment, to forever roam the night.

And in some cases, Bloduewedd is considered the goddess of Spring and owls, maintaining a vital and shape-shifting aspect to her persona, associated with the archetypal 'white goddess'.

Blodeuwedd, 'flower face' Owl goddess of Spring, 2015

Each piece in the trilogy set is drawn in graphite on soft deckled Rives BFK, 10x13" (full page), 8x10" (live area).

Blodeuwedd was completed in two days, breaking down to roughly 16 hours, not including the initial two inch gesture sketch, as seen below:

Original two inch rough concept thumbnail, on the drawing board, 2015

Laying in the values, on the drawing board, Studio shot, 2015

I work fairly loosely to start, building the inner structure of the figure I am creating with light curving strokes. I find this relaxing, and helpful to shape the grace of the human form in organic patterns or marks.

My mark making and linear work is quite confident, so you can see, in the above image, that I've found the likeness of the body fairly quickly, by eye, and I'm laying in the values immediately afterwards, building the flesh up meticulously, but easily. It's all about edges, here! 

I wanted Blod to have a kind of poised and slightly reticent quality, particularly about her face, as she is more inclined to the shadows with those owl eyes and plumage-speckled change.

With her environment and her magical origin so clearly rooted in the forested and floral world, foliage seemed a good framework for her negative space, in the drawing.

Final drawing, Detail, Graphite, 2015

And, although the order in which I drew them is how I've posted them, their intended order as a final visual trilogy set, as seen below in the original mock up, is as follows:

Original two inch vertical scale sketches, in order (triptych), Graphite, 2015

Final Artwork - "Welsh Immortals - A Mabinogion Trilogy" - Triptych, Graphite, 2015

And the final collection - "Welsh Immortals - A Mabinogion Trilogy".

Original drawings available for pre-sale only, at this time.

Art Prints of the graphite drawings are available for purchase now - Browse and order here

Full color paintings will be completed at the same size, also available for purchase as finished art-prints, also available now for pre-sale - Contact me directly, HERE

If you would like to see more, or have any comments to contribute to the project, please share below in the comments section! I'm always interested in feedback. 

For now,

As always,

-Mairin-Taj

Welsh Trilogy - Drawing Two {Horse} - "Rhiannon, Goddess of Horses and the Hunt"

{To learn more about the background of this trilogy inspiration, content material, mythological context, and over all goal, Read the first blog post of this series - "drawing one" - featuring Arawn, Lord of the Underworld, HERE}

As I've said in the first installment, I'll be sharing the collective process of each of the other two works of this series separately, in their own posts, once they are likewise completed.

So now, our first of the two remaining characters, immortals, both female - Rhiannon.

She is evocative, elusive, and tauntingly ethereal queen archetype, goddess of horses and the hunt, related to the Gaulish horse goddess Epona.

Introduced in the first branch of the Mabinogion, Rhiannon cleverly catches the attention of Pwyll, the Prince of Dyfed (West Wales) as a marvel appearing on sacred ground. Mesmerized and encouraged by her rare quality, who tries to catch her for days, though she perpetually remains ahead of him, magically ambling along on her shining white steed. 

With political prowess, Rhiannon chooses Pwyll as her consort over another to whom she is already betrothed.

The queenly Rhiannon and prince Pwyll's son is Pryderi, the hero of the realm, who inherits his father's lordship of the west. The mare-like goddess and her foal son are both associated with the horse totem.

With this trilogy series, I am making a totemic connection between mythological figures and their corresponding animals, because, in these Celtic origins, Nature is married irrevocably with human experience.

So Rhiannon is golden and fair, like the white steed for which she is known to appear upon, and horse-eared.

Rhiannon, Goddess of Horses and the Hunt, 2015

As with Arawn, for the trilogy set, Rhiannon is drawn in graphite on soft deckled Rives BFK, 10x13" (full page), 8x10" (live area).

She was drawn in about 15 hours over the course of two and a half days:

Original two inch rough concept thumbnail, 2015

Laying in the values, on the drawing board, Studio shot, 2015

I wanted Rhiannon to have a posture and an attitude that was reminiscent of those playful, forceful gestures horses make with their necks as they toss their heads and look back at you.

I liked the idea of how, when horses do such things, it can be beautiful, alluring, and equally uncertain as to whether they are feigning or truly ready to demonstrate their muscular power.

I worked the 's' curve into her stance, and emphasized the shapes within her, because I wanted to admire her anatomy the way we admire similar forms in horse anatomy - The arch in the neck, the curving groove of the back, the roundness of the hip bone... And of course let's not forget the great mane; Rhiannon needed to have great waves of wildly flowing golden hair.

Final Drawing, Detail, Graphite, 2015

The next and lastly drawn member of this Immortals trilogy is the Owl...

Follow up with the final installment of this trilogy series blog post for not only a break down of the Owl, but also a look at all three finished graphite drawings together, triptych style.

And Art Prints are available for purchase HERE

Coming up next!

-Mairin-Taj

Welsh Trilogy - Drawing One {Dog} - "Arawn, Lord of the Underworld"

I've decided to blog about these three pieces of the Welsh series in three stages, or chunks.

I've concluded the conceptual, reference, and drawing processes of this first piece, and am eager to share the final, full entry version at length; if you've been following along on my process feed on Instagram or FB, you'll recognize some of these, but the series warrants a bit more in depth development of conceptual origin and the ultimate goal.

I'll be sharing the collective process of each of the other two works of this series separately, in their own posts, once they are likewise completed.

So, to start, 'Welsh Trilogy'...

My roots in inspiration for illustration come from my infatuation with mythology. I'm prone to the celtic stories, myself. The Welsh mythos, detailing similarly naturalistic iconography to that of the Irish and Scottish cultures, is well encapsulated, for the most part, in the Mabinogion.

I've mentioned the Mabinogion in my recent post about "What I'm (Re)Reading", which you can catch up on HERE.

But in short, the Mabinogion is a collection of stories expressing various branches of Welsh mythology, describing the deeds and events around key ancient heroes, heroines, and villains. The noble protagonists and antagonists of the stories are generally the archaic gods of Wales, if not legendary humans, roaming the land.

One of these classic characters is Arawn, Lord of the Underworld, a removed realm known as Annwn. Arawn of Annwn is a kind of king figure, who presides with wisdom over his land, and interacts with the human, living world as if it were a neighboring country. In early British myth, the symbols of the Underworld, or the Otherworld, and of healing, ushering, or death archetypes, are large white hounds with red ears.

As with the other two works for this trilogy series, I am making a totemic connection between mythological figures and their corresponding animals, because, in these Celtic origins, Nature is married irrevocably with human experience.

For Arawn, Lord of the Underworld, his animal is the white and red-eared dog, and he'll be portrayed in shadow, with the white and red-tipped ears, holding a precious golden apple, key to his realm.

Here is the drawing for the piece:

Arawn, Lord of Annwn, Dog of the Underworld, 2015.

There will be three final drawings on soft deckled 100% cotton Rives BFK, 10x13", and then there will be three final paintings, full color, of the same size.

Here are break down snap shots of the behind the scenes process for this drawing:

Preliminary Sketch, graphite on paper, 2 1/2x3 1/2"

Early Stages, Final Graphite Drawing, 8x10" Live Area

Laying in the values of the negative space, Graphite, Studio Shot, 2015.

Final Drawing, Detail, "Arawn of Annwn" - Back and Apple, 2015

In the meantime, I'll give you a clue to the remaining two pieces in the trilogy: horse, and owl.

This is a fun and intriguing project to work on, and I am eager to see them all to the painting stage!

If you would like to see more, or have any comments to contribute to the project, please share below in the comments section! I'm always interested in feedback.

Find more process information and current work on my Instagram page - I post a lot of imagery about my work and my travel there - Find me at Mairin-Taj Caya - In Medias Res

-Mairin-Taj