Aengus and Caer 8- Finish

Aengus and Caer 7- Solid colors

BLOCKING in solid colors is next. I still hope to finish this by Saturday. 3 more days to go...


Nadi

Aengus and Caer 6- Black Lines

BLACK lines are painted on bright orange canvas. I buy my acrylic paint from Artex Manufacturing in Los Angeles. It's called Nova Color and most muralists use it. I love it- and shipping time is amazing. If I order before noon,I always get it the next day. And that's fantastic when you're working on a mural at another location.


TOMORROW I will start painting. I love this part the most...


Nadi

Aengus and Caer 5- Swans

THIS is my finished design. I'm going to enlarge it to 36x48" and print it out in 8 1/2" sections on my b/w printer, then trace onto 36x48 canvas that has been painted bright orange.



SEE you tomorrow...

Nadi

Aengus and Caer 4- Background

I NEED a background. I searched my DVD of Early European Photographs 1890-1915, Stock.Xchng online, and my reference files for lake pictures in Ireland. I dropped them behind my figures to get a feel for what I'm looking for.




Nope.




Not quite.




I LIKE the lake.




I LIKE the trees, but...


REVERSED is better. I think I want to combine the lake from pic 3 with the trees surrounding the figures. So I drop out image behind the trees and drop in lake picture behind trees.


THIS WILL work. Now for the other swans...
SEE you tomorrow...


Nadi

Aengus and Caer 3- Swan and Birds

HEY – I really like my first shot so I'm leaving this. I wasn't sure what to do with the bent knee but it worked. All the parts of the swan are from different photos. They are scanned in to my computer, the backgrounds are cut out and then each piece is placed around and behind the girl. Each piece is on a separate layer, which lets me move them around until I like the fit. All of this is done in Photoshop, which cuts my designing time into 1/10th the time it would take without Photoshop.



4 BIRDS added to Aengus. This is done the same way as above. Each bird is drawn, scanned in, put on its own layer, and moved around until I'm happy.





WHICH makes it easy then to place him in front of Caer. This is my basic design. Not sure where to go from here.

TOMORROW I'll figure it out. See you then...

Nadi

Aengus and Caer 2- Models

STARTING a design is fun. I have my story and now I need to decide how I will tell it. I can't say everything – I must pick elements that will be exciting to look at and at the same time depict this specific story. I can visualize a man holding a swan while becoming a swan; I can also see two swans in flight. But I think I want to show the moment when Aengus reaches for Caer, that split second before she vanishes.

MODELS will be necessary. I've been told I lead a charmed life. Whenever I need something, I find the universe to be very generous with her gifts. Yesterday, my daughter and her boyfriend, world-traveling trick-riders in the equine show Cavalia, arrived for an all-too brief and infrequent visit. Landon is beautiful with long blond hair and Alex has an athlete's body with long curly hair and beard. Serendipity.

PHOTOS of every kind are found in my reference files. I've been collecting pictures for 4o years and, even though the internet is amazing for research, I still like to browse through hard files. There's something about the smell and feel of 40 year-old pages. I have hundreds of swan pictures – I really liked the pictures with wings out-spread. And now I can see Caer in a similar pose, maybe with a swan behind her. And that's it – I see my painting. Not complete, but Landon and Alex leave tomorrow so here goes....



TOMORROW I will show you how I meld the swan's figure with Landon's. At least that's what I think will happen. See you then...

Nadi

Aengus and Caer 1- The Story

REPOST from 2 years ago!
ON 1ST SATURDAYS, I participate in a town-wide art festival here in Three Rivers, CA, opening my studio to visitors to eye my latest project, enjoy food and drink, and listen to story-teller Rae Ann Kumelos tell a tale from her radio show "Voice of the Animal."

PASSION is the theme this month. Passion for art, passion for people, passion for life. This is a month to celebrate those you love – to call a faraway friend – to send candy and flowers with a heart-felt missive. So, I'm trimming my studio in red, white and black and looking for a story to paint. Rae Ann has chosen "Mating For Life," accounts of monogamous animals, and one segment is the Celtic myth of the passion of the love god Aengus for the swan-maiden Caer. It goes something like this...

AENGUS was the god of love. He was very handsome and about his head flew 4 of his kisses turned into birds (some say that's where the XXXXs at the end of a love letter come from.) Aengus was adored by many women and he was happy with his love-life until, one night, he had a dream in which appeared the most beautiful woman in Ireland. But when he reached out to touch her, she disappeared. A year went by and every night the woman appeared, sometimes playing beautiful music on a harp. And at the end of a year, she vanished.

AENGUS was by now in love with the maiden and grew despondent. He stopped eating and became very ill. Many physicians tried and failed to cure him until, finally, he was diagnosed with love-sickness. After searching Ireland for 3 years, his parents found the girl Caer, discovering that she was a shape-shifter – living alternate years in human and swan form.

AENGUS was told by Caer's father that he could marry her if he could identify her as a swan. He was sent to the Lake of the Dragon's Mouth where he found 150 swans. He stood in a man's form at the edge of the loch and called out to Caer, who answered him, saying she would come to him if he promised to let her return to the water.

AENGUS kept his promise, turning into a swan as he held her in his arms. They returned to the water and then flew into the sky together, singing a song so sweet that all the people of Ireland fell into a peaceful sleep for 3 days and 3 nights.

Hmmm... I think I have my story. For my next post, I will show you how I develop a composition.

SEE you tomorrow-
NADI

Lughnasadh Painting: Day 7, Yay! It's done!

Well here it is finished. And just in time. Tomorrow I will bake my Blueberry Sun Bread again, set up a still with this in the background, and take a picture for my recipe greeting card. Then I will order cards that will arrive barely in time for my Nadi's Table event which I host at my studio every first Saturday of the month. You are all welcome to join me to try my bread and blueberry tea from 12:00 to 2:00.

SEE YOU there!

DON'T FORGET to check out my Lughnasadh painting on prints, shirts, cards, mugs, and more on Cafepress! Click on title of post above.

Lughnasadh Painting: Belt, Day 6

I FOUND this photo of a celtic knot. I took it into Photoshop and distorted it to fit the belt. I flopped the image for other side of belt. This saves me lots of time redrawing it to fit the shape.
NOW I just have to trace it onto canvas.

I FILLED in wheat next.

NINE PM, and I'm going home!

Lughnasadh Painting: Color! Day 5

I LOVE color! Today I painted in solid colors, not really thinking about the variations of color that will go on top. I'm mostly concerned with the balance of light and dark, and also blues and golds. Don't forget this painting is 36"x48", so there is a lot of ground to cover. This took about 6 hours.

I SHOULD finish this by Tuesday. Then I will bake the Blueberry Sun Bread and set up a still-life with the bread and the painting for my recipe greeting card.

Lughnasadh Painting: Black Lines, Day 4

I DECIDED to wing it tomorrow at the Fowler Library reception. If I give it too much thought, I will freak out. I figure if someone asks a question I can definitely answer it. So I worked on another watercolor this morning and then I spent most of the day working on this.

THE DANCERS had to go. I wasn't happy at all. It seemed unfair that some were dancing and some still working. It didn't work both ways, so I picked the workers. I liked the composition better this way, but I did struggle. And I'm still working on Renny's eyes. Actually, it looked a lot like Renny – not what I intended though.

BACK TO the easel. I have two hours before I have to get ready for Canasta.

See you Sunday, Nadi

Lughnasadh Painting: Day 3

I WAS HOPING that I would get the black lines on my canvas finished today, but I worked on a watercolor at home while watching 4 episodes of Project Runway this morning. So I got a late start. However, I started this as a daily post, so I guess I have to show you how much I did today. I will finish lines tomorrow – then color! I hope you are enjoying this- I have to say, it is pushing me to get this done. Thank you! 'Til tomorrow – ciao! Nadi

Lughnasadh Painting: Day 2, The Design

I HAVE my idea, now I need to pick the elements I think will tell a good story and also be fun to paint. Right off the bat, I know I am doing blueberries. Great color and shape, and because of their size I will put them in the foreground so I can enlarge them. The color will bounce off nicely with the complimentary oranges and golds of the wheat, which will be my main theme. (I'm thinking blueberry bread of some sort at this point for the recipe card.)

SCOURING my reference files, both hard copy and online, I find images that represent what I'm seeing.
I WANT a woman picking the berries, not sure where she is looking yet. Maybe at the raven. A WHEAT field can go in the back. I like this one with the sea behind.THE RAVEN is too small. Since he represents Lugh, the sun god, and has made all this possible, I am going to have him interact with the woman, who is happy for his generosity. I find a face (my daughter Renny) that has the look I want. The raven now continues the circle of the blueberries and I like this.A CELEBRATION needs to be happening – the harvest is almost finished. RENNY needs some Irish clothes and maybe a headdress. It would be hot in the sun in August, picking berries.MANY, MANY changes took place as I went along. I just gave you the basic process. I'm pretty happy with this design. The beauty of Photoshop, which is the program I use, is that I can enlarge or reduce, flop, and change position of each item at will. I tried the woman facing the other direction, I tried the dancers bigger and in other areas. I kept coming back to this. I will make a black and white copy of this now and transfer it to my 36"x48" canvas that has been painted bright orange.

SEE YOU tomorrow!

Lughnasadh Painting: Day 1, The Concept

I THOUGHT it might be fun to show everyone how I create a painting- from concept to signing. It's really fun. I am very organized; I have binders and binders of ideas and starts of projects, and that is where I generally begin. But not always. Point in case – this week's painting. I wanted something different for my August recipe greeting card that I will have ready for my Nadi's Table event on August 1st, where I serve the recipe to anyone that wants to try it.

SO WHAT is celebrated in August? Nothing makes me happier than to search for info on the internet! I learned that August is National Golf Month, National Picnic Month, and Romance Awareness Month. We celebrate the birth of the internet on August 1: Vertumnalia, the festival of Vertumnus, the Roman god of seasons, gardens and orchards, is celebrated on August 13th (which is also Blame Someone Else Day). We have Ice Cream Sandwich Day, Toasted Marshmallow Day, Pony Express Day and, my favorite, Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night (August 8).

BUT WHEN I read about Lughnasadh (pronounced LOO-na-sa), the Celtic festival of the first harvest, I knew I had my painting – and my recipe.

LUGHNASADH is the gaelic word for August and is named for Lugh, the Irish sun god, who is associated with the raven, light, and agricultural fertility. On August 1st, Lugh celebrated the death of his foster-mother Tailtiu, the last queen of the Fir Bolg. Tailtiu died from exhaustion after being forced, by her enemy, to clear a forest for planting. Festivities centered around the grain harvest, which was needed to get the tribe through the winter months.

FARM FOLK picked the first wild blueberries, and sang when the crop was abundant, for a good berry crop meant a good wheat crop. There was dancing in the field, and sometimes a wagonwheel was set on fire and rolled down a hill. It was the day for handfasted marriages, where a couple could marry for a year and a day, until next Lughnasadh, when they would either commit or stand back to back and walk away to dissolve the marriage. People gathered to exchange news and settle disputes, to sell wares, to tell stories, and to compete in games and horse races. There was great feasting, with the baking of bread an important ritual.

TODAY, Lughnasadh reminds us of the importance of belonging to a community, of working and playing together, of achieving success through group effort. It is a time to share your bounty with those less fortunate and to help friends and neighbors. It is a time to let go of things no longer fruitful in your life and open up to the bounty of things to come.

TOMORROW I will show you how I get started.

'Til then – Nadi