Visual Exploration 2: Black experiments 2

 Experiments inspired by Ivan Solyaev

After being inspired by the work of Ivan Solyaev I wanted to experiment with creating the same warm, dark feeling his work produces. I think I succeeded in creating something haunting yet elegant and dreamlike with the subject matter referencing death, a synonym of black. 

The inspiration for the first piece was the folklore creature Wendigo.

For the process, I wanted to try something different. I first created this image using Indian ink, brush, and salt to create the cracking effect which I hoped would loosely mimic the grainy texture of Solyaev's work. I then took a photo of the ink painting and reworked it digitally, keeping in the texture created by the ink and salt.

I had so much fun with this process and am very happy with the outcome. I might consider working this way for the colour story final piece.

The Mari Lwyd

When I showed this piece to friends a couple of them said it reminded them of the Welsh folklore creature Mari Lwyd, a white skeletal mare decorated with streamers often with lights for eyes. I found this comparison very interesting especially because Mari Lwyd appears during the darkest months of the year, after Christmas and before Twelfth Night, linking her to the colour black. I want to look further into folklore creatures for this project, and maybe incorporate Mari Lwyd into my final piece for colour story.