Art & Illustration
A challenging journey
"Sailing on Starlight"
If you've read my other stories in this section, you'll note that my recent paintings were all inspired by "dreams" and images I've had in my mind. This one was no exception. I have several worlds I like to visit while I'm drifting off to sleep, and this one is a land where it's late autumn, with a nice frosty chill in the air. There's a candlelit path from my doorway to the nearby lake, and at the dock is a boat just big enough for a person to lie down in, filled to the brim with fluffy pillows and blankets. There are no oars or paddle. You just get in and push yourself gently away and let the boat drift while you gaze at the stars... the only sounds are of the water gently lapping at the boat's sides, the occasional owl or birdsong from the surrounding forest, and (if you listen very carefully), you can hear the song of the stars above.
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In my dreams, I often make the journey solo, but for this painting I decided to include two characters. Perhaps a young queen taking her firstborn son out for a midnight lesson on how to observe and listen with more than just your eyes and ears.
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I had a good idea of the composition, but the first obstacle quickly presented itself: perspective. I often can draw without a model, but lately I've taken to using myself and my husband for difficult poses. So, I enlisted Erick to stand on a chair and take some photos of me lying on the ground below:
I did a quick sketch from the photo and added in the boy. I was pleasantly surprised how quickly he appeared and with such little fuss... I guess he was always meant to be there.
I originally thought I'd have the mother looking up and pointing things out to him, but I tried several photos with different poses, and this one seemed the warmest and most fitting. I'd also originally imagined the young prince being uninterested and either falling asleep or playing with some intricate toy, but nope! He just appeared this way and it was pleasantly surprising to find him so interested in the subject. Then I realized he wasn't wearing a coat, so I had to tell his mother to pull the blankets further over him. She also seems to be listening happily to a story he's overheard from their starry companions above.
Then, it was time for the painting... the second challenge I spoke of. I had in my mind an autumn setting with rich reds, umbers and browns. The candles on the path to the water and the autumn leaves illuminated from below suggested all these colors in my imagination, but as I started painting I found my original colors weren't working.
As you can see, I started off giving the mother a black dress with red trim, and the boy a purple vest with the same fur trim... But it just wasn't right. So I played around and the vest went from purple, to navy, to the burnt umber you see in the final. The mother's embroidery changed from red, to blue, to finally the silver you see. She was also starting to feel a little too dark, so I lightened her dress to a dark espresso color. Finally, I was happy with the more monochromatic scheme for the characters... then came the final challenge: the water.
You can click through the slideshow on the right to see some of the process of making the water. I threw in the basic shape of the stars I wanted at first (slide 1), but realized quickly that I needed much more depth and texture to the water. I wanted it to be starry, but I didn't want it to look like they were floating through the black of space. I went online for inspiration and decided to combine some water ripples (slide 2) with some watercolor washes for color (slide 3). Add some salt and spatter for stars, some ripples in the texture, and voila!
Fresh
Well, that's about it! Do you have an idea for a story to go along with this illustration? Feel free to write your ideas below! I look forward to hearing what you think :)