Here is another ACEO (see yesterday’s post if you don’t know what they are).  Be warned if you haven’t read Deathly Hallows, read no further.  This small drawing was inspired by a scene in Deathly Hallows where Snape reveals his patronus to Dumbledore – a doe (which apparently was Lily Potter’s patronus).  Dumbledore asks Snape “after all this time” and Snape replies “always.”   I am patiently waiting to hear Alan Rickman’s mellifluous voice pronounce the word.  That one word tells so much about Snape’s character.  Yes, he could be cruel, cold and hard but apparently he was also devoted, loyal and capable of love to the point of altruistically protecting Lily’s son for no earthly gain other than a duty owed to love.  Er, sorry – I get carried away.  Sooner or later  I’ll have to do a whole Harry Potter analysis post here just to get it out of my system.  Anyway, this is an original ink and pencil drawing.  If you’d like to visit my etsy store the portkey is the drawing.

Here’s a link, if you adore Mr. Rickman’s wonderful voice as much as I do, of him reading Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130.  By the way I’m starting a one woman campaign to urge Alan Rickman do more poetry recordings – starting with John Donne’s Song –  Go and Catch a Falling Star.  Such a beautiful, fun and yet cynical poem.

Go and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the devil’s foot,
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy’s stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind. 

If thou be’st born to strange sights,
Things invisible to see,
Ride ten thousand days and nights,
Till age snow white hairs on thee,
Thou, when thou return’st, wilt tell me,
All strange wonders that befell thee,
And swear,
No where
Lives a woman true and fair. 

If thou find’st one, let me know,
Such a pilgrimage were sweet;
Yet do not, I would not go,
Though at next door we might meet,
Though she were true, when you met her,
And last, till you write your letter,
Yet she
Will be

False, ere I come, to two, or three.

I’m finding that working within the ACEO* constraints has reignited my desire to draw. I’ve always drawn. I think every child starts off as an artist and then through lack of encouragement or perhaps too much discouragement children just stop expressing themselves through art. Fortunately, some get that little bit of needed encouragement just at the right time that keeps them working to get better and then there are some of us who are just too stubborn to be discouraged. …. But wait, I digress.. I was saying, I enjoy drawing within the confines of the ACEO dimensions.  Why look, here’s one now…

The Snow Queen

I read all the fairy tale books I could get my hands on as a child from the Blue Fairy Book through the Lilac, the Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Andersen.  And as light hearted as Danny Kaye’s film portrayal of Hans was, in re-reading Andersen’s stories as an adult – well, wow – he tackled some serious issues and frightening subject matter in those stories that probably would not be rated acceptable for children in this day and age. Actually, fairy tales are our most ancient stories and carry mythic themes and universal truths … Uh,  but I digress again… I remember this wonderfully illustrated version of the Snow Queen that I checked out of the library as a child.  It was beautiful.  The illustrations were pencil colored, just beautifully blended, something like the style of Jan Brett.   I remember trying to figure out how to blend colors that way.  I wish I had paid attention to the artist’s name but I was probably about 8 or 9 and that didn’t seem as important back then.  The Snow Queen itself is a very creepy story – its available on line if you’d like to read it.  Here is an annotated version:  ”The Snow Queen”

If you’d like to see more of my shop, just click (no, not your heels – click on the Snow Queen).  

ACEO stands for “Art Cards, Editions and Originals”. These cards have one main rule – they are 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches – the size of a trading card.

I’ve got the theme song to the Hans Christian Andersen movie going though my head now thanks to that YouTube link above…. be warned its very catchy.

Since this blog is supposed to be a help to me sell my art work in my Etsy shop and since I’ve been doing nothing on this blog but blather on about whatever pops into my head or whatever shiny thing I’ve seen, I thought I’d take a moment and post the latest entries into my shop..

This one is “Waiting for Inspiration (The Three Muses).  Sometimes even the Muses have a hard time getting inspired. You just have to cross your arms and wait.

As for the medium used on this ACEO* – well, I just grabbed a sharpie and went for it and then filled in the fine lines with an archival ink pen. Needless to say, its an original drawing on vellum bristol.

*ACEO stands for “Art Cards, Editions and Originals”. These cards have one main rule – they are 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches – the size of a trading card.