Friday, October 28, 2011

Persephone


8 x 10" Arches paper.
Graphite + acrylic.

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Persephone became Queen of the Underworld when Hades, god of the Underworld, kidnapped her. He burst out of the Underworld on a chariot, grabbing her while she was picking Narcissus flowers. Persephone's mother Demeter, goddess of harvest, was distraught and searched everywhere for her daughter. She refused to allow anything to grow on the earth until Zeus stopped avoiding her questions and helped her.
Zeus, not wanting everything to be destroyed, demanded that Hades return Persephone. As she was leaving, Hades offered her a pomegranate, which she ate the seeds of before returning to the surface. Whether or not she was tricked depends on what translation you read, but since she ate food from the Underworld, she would have to return to the Underworld three months out of the year. This, according the the mythology, is what causes the changes in seasons.
This is a pretty basic summary. You can read a more thorough version of the story here.

The pomegranate itself has polarizing meanings across cultures, from the fruit of the dead to symbolizing good health and fertility.
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I also drew from this video, which I advise you not to watch if you're sensitive to potentially disturbing imagery of a gory, violent, sexual kind. Or if you're not into music erring on the 'loud' side (sorry, I'm not so good at the genre thing).


Er... well I guess the preview shot on this video kind of says it all.

Happy Halloween everyone ;]

7 comments:

  1. The video is fool and amazing and your artwork is awesome!

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  2. Thanks for great story. The illustration is wonderful...contrast, color, everything.

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  3. the painting came out so goooood!!!<3
    keep up keep up the good work team mate!;D

    p.s.good decision on the graphite powders,the graphite texture is so nice here!

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  4. The drawing is awesome! And the video...well...! freaky!

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  5. really scary, well if somebody held you as captive, what's more scary? Anyway...you like Dir en Grey? Very good. :)

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  6. I like your illustration :) looks awesome, i love the pose and the style.

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  7. Where the composition is undeveloped the spirit of the piece slays me. The sensation i get is complex and dismal. It is only as a woman could express it. It brings on feelings and understandings that i could not reach on my own as a man. Very well done indeed!

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