Friday, October 14, 2005

Illustration Friday - Cold- Snow Queen

Illustration Friday is 'cold' this week.

At first i was pondering on penguins and some of the arctic whales for the idea of cold this week but this week I felt i wanted to do something more fanciful.

It didn't take long to come up with a real idea since I had been thinking about the story of the Snow Queen earlier in the week. It seemed obvious that she would make a good painting for the idea of 'Cold.
She was of the ice; clothed in Ice and snow and had the coldest heart, made of solid ice. I wanted to play with the extremes of facial features and make her face look as much like an icicle as possible, without going over the edge into cariacature. I also wanted her to remain beautiful since the Snow Queen is coldly beautiful - as beautiful as an iceberg or glacier. She is the very opposite of queens such as the Queen of Hearts who seem comfortably rounded, bustly and smelling of warm kitchens and baked tarts filled with jam.

I think i've made her more sympathetic than many people because i can see why she wanted the company of Kay; why she craved a warm and clever child to help her pass the time in her castle of ice. Of course she could only keep him by half changing him to ice and removing the bits of him that had appealed to her in the first place.
When i first read the story of the Snow Queen, I think i empathised very much with Gerda - the older and wiser sister who had to rescue the younger brother from himself. I think my youngest sister was born around that time [I'm the oldest of four girls] and i think the idea of a resourceful older sister was something i felt i had to live up to.







18 comments:

Rowantree said...

Wow, great blue colours and expression !

The Tart said...

Chilly beauty!

Tag, you're it....Joli's blog

Tony Sarrecchia said...

She is beautiful and cold. Great job.

Anonymous said...

Beautifully cold- excellent

Unknown said...

Lovely illustraiton!

Anonymous said...

She IS both beautiful and cold! I love her eyes, and her hair piece is divine! This is an excellent Snow Queen :)

isay said...

beautiful and i like how you have made the effects on the veil. it really looks like very silky.

Anonymous said...

Very very cool, clinically beautifully.

Detlef
http://www.detlefjumpertz.com

Anonymous said...

Her eyes are amazing ... almost as if they are boring into your soul. They also contrast hugely with her "dead" mouth. She is beautiful, yet terrible. It is easy to see why anyone would be driven to obey her. This is a beautiful, beautiful illustration.

carla said...

She is coldly beautiful...I sense a conflict within her between her cold resolve and her desire to perhaps be something better. Her face has just a hint of puzzlement. I adore your colors and close up on her face...and I do love the fairy tale connection. This is 100% superb!

Catnapping said...

I really love what you've done with her hair. and those eyes are fantastic.

Eren said...

She is quite fanciful! Nice illustration!

constanthing said...

Beautiful cool colors. She reminds me of Glenn Close, cold, piercing eyes and demeanor ... brrr!

Todd DeWolf said...

Beautiful and chilly image. Very soft and crisp at the same time.

bee'nme said...

She's the personification of cold - great image, perfect colors!

Jay Noel said...

I'm freezing now, thanks a lot.

Unknown said...

She is definitely cold.
the colors are great.

milanrubio said...

Love her ice-expression.
Great color palette(so blue, so cool) and nice snow flakes in his head...

snow queen rules!
very nice work!