Hi, Hive!
Back for some more art! I've been trying out alternating an art post and a short story post each week but I don't think it's working. So, instead, I'll be returning to the once-a-week art post and including a once-a-week writing post. Plus the spider posts on Wednesdays...
This week will be a showing of a commission. Back to fantasy! Like I said, fantasy is my go-to genre for art. While I could technically paint outlandish things in a scifi piece, it's still restricted by silly things like physics and logic. Bleh. Who needs that when enjoying something escapist?!
THE LAST STAND
And to press deeper into the fantasy, and also to contradict my previous declaration, this painting deals with a fantasy trope. Dwarves versus elves! The age-old (since the 1980s at least) rivalry between these two opposing races. But, while the concept of the dwarf and elf in modern times is the fantasy representative, these beings originate from mythology. Instead of explain each step, I'll be going into some of the myth of these iconic fantasy creatures.
» IDEA
Germanic myth (of which Norse mythology is a part of) is perhaps the more well-known when it comes to dwarves and elves. Thanks, in part (though they get it horribly wrong) to the Marvel Cinematic universe. Did I mention they get it horribly wrong? Because it's bordering on heresy how wrong they get it. But I digress...
» LAYOUT
In Norse mythology, the dwarves as we know them are called the Dokkalfar or Svartsalfar, which translates to dark or black elves, respectively. They're called this due to their skin being as dark as the underground in which they live. Any exposure to the sun can kill them. They are the creators of the tools, jewels, and weapons of the gods or "Aesir". This includes Thor's mallet, Mjolnir, and his wife Sif's wig of actual gold threads for hair.
» CONTRAST
Some well-known dwarves in Norse myth are Nordi, Sudri, Austri, and Vestri. These four dwarves represent each point of the compass; North, South, East, and West, respectively. They hold up the sky dome at each cardinal point, the dome that was made up of the skull of Ymir, the giant and Odin's father.
» ATMOSPHERE
Counter to the dwarves are the elves, called the Alfar, which is just "elves". These beings are magical, in a sense, and associated with light and the sun. Freyr, the twin of Freya, is lord of Alfheim, being a god of light. A Norse version of Apollo. Needless to say, the Alfar and Svartsalfar do not get along. They are, in essence, polar opposites. A Norse counterpart of the Chinese yin-yang concept.
» GIFNESS
» ART INSIGHT FOR THE WEEK
Sometimes we don't want to deal with thinking out a scene and story, nevermind dealing with the many failed sketches in trying to nail the composition. And that's okay. There's no shame in taking an existing scene or story and painting it. In fact, many of the great artists in history all did this. Depictions of mythology and religions are among the most common of these, aside from portraits.
Taking a story and painting it can also help you from what's called a "burn-out", which is a point at which your brain just cannot gather the focus and energy or motivation to bother with doing any art at all for a certain amount of time. Burn-out often can lead to the abandoning of art completely. So taking steps to lessen it, cure it, or prevent it, are of vital importance to an artist.
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