I believe I've spoken of these supernatural characters form Arctic mythology before. The Grizzly People are typical examples of the myths and legends told by the Inuit people. The Grizzly Beings are animal, human hybrids which feature prominently in Inuit lore.There are also Wolf People and Seal People. Here the Grizzly People are large human characters with bear like attributes and modes of behavior. They hunt and eat humans, rob graves and scavenge human camp sites. They are very large and very dangerous.
It was decided that we should have a Grizzly Being on the title page of the book we're just finishing up and so this first illustration shows just such a one, menacing and striding toward us, having just decided we are something worth adding to the menu.. He is big and rather misshapen and carries a large Inuit spear, which is just as likely to be used for digging as it is for hunting. I like to depict these fellows with bags or satchels because they are scavengers and I can imagine them traveling about with bits of old meat, bone and other edibles picked up on previous foraging operations.
In this second illustration we see a Grizzly Man with a fresh body he has just pulled from a grave. He is scruffy and dirty which is typical for them and much in need of the bath he will never ever have and the dentist he will never ever visit. These pictures are for a new collection of Arctic stories from Inhabit Media entitled The Shadows That Rush Past, A Collection of Frightening Inuit Folktales. These stories are historically the kinds of stories told to children in order to teach them survival lessons and this book is for children also - Inuit children. There are plans to release these books in English but as far as I know not many of them have yet been translated.
You can find out more about Inhabit Media here - http://www.inhabitmedia.com/
I'll have more for you shortly
.Cheers
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Dreaming of Spring - Sketchbook 2
I believe I've spoken before about how much I love to draw with a simple old bic pen. The bic glides smoothly over the cheap printer paper I often use and leaves a nice clean blue. There's no erasing with a ball point pen so you can't get too careful or fussy. You have to think on your feet when working this way and a little coffee will help to keep you alert and fresh. I often like to start these doodle sessions by drawing the frames on the page first and then challenge myself to put something, anything into each one. This of course leads to a certain amount of repetition but it can also yield happy accidents and pleasant surprises. You have to be willing to take whatever you get when working this way but it's often worth it because there's nothing better than a new idea.
Peace be with you.
More soon.
Peace be with you.
More soon.
Dreaming of Spring - Sketchbook
I don't think I have ever been so desperate for Spring to arrive as I was this year. Winter just seemed to hang on and hang on. Even when the calendar said it was Spring, Winter kept stabbing at us from the grave with snow flurries, sleet, wind and frost. We are definitely into Spring now and things are beginning to warm up, but the spring I'm dreaming of is the warm golden spring of mid May, not the cool and damp spring of early April. These sketchbook doodles are from this past winter when the balmy, sun lit days of May were front and center in my thoughts.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Prints !
I was finally able to get some prints up at my Etsy shop. Luckily these are a lot more affordable than my over priced originals. :)
Please follow this link and give it a peek - http://www.etsy.com/people/LarryMacDougallArt?ref=si_pr
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Lavender Blue - Leprechaun Tree House
This new one is for the Lavender Blue and the Faeries of Galtee Wood faerie tale book I've been working on. Here Lavender pauses in front of the Leprechaun's tree house before she knocks on the door. At this point in the story she has already been through a lot and is justifiably cautious. We don't yet know whether the Leprechaun is a friend or an enemy and since this is a faerie tale, caution is definitely advisable.
This picture is watercolour with gouache and pencil crayon.
This picture is watercolour with gouache and pencil crayon.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Arcadia Sketchbook - Satyrs
A wee bit of harmless pencil work from a recent doodle session - 3B pencil on regular sketchbook paper - a simple diversion from some recent days of serious painting. I'm back on the Lavender Blue project and hope to have something new to post shortly.
But until then - peace be with you.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Mythic Faire
This weekend I will be in Baltimore for Mythic Faire.
Check this link to find out more http://www.renconvention.com/
Cheers
Check this link to find out more http://www.renconvention.com/
Cheers
Monday, March 7, 2011
Nymph Resting on Stone Head and Dreaming Distant Thoughts.
Just a bit of recent pencil activity. I'm probably the one who is actually dreaming the distant thoughts - it's time to wake up.
More soon.
Cheers.
More soon.
Cheers.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Mice !
Okay - this is a little different. A few years back it was looking like we might be doing some Redwall related work - you know, the Arthurian/Robin Hood mice stories - very cool ! Anyway, we worked up some samples and got very excited about working on Redwall until the whole thing inevitably fell through. I still like these ones though and would love to have a chance to do something like this again sometime.
Cheers
Cheers
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Griz
This is a piece from the Arctic Myths project I am currently working on. Depicted here is a female Grizzly Being - which is to say a human being with some very prominent Grizzly Bear characteristics. In this picture we have a large and bloated female taking a drink from a stream. The Grizzly people are known to be rather nasty. They are grave robbers. They plunder and steal and murder. You really do not want to encounter a Grizzly being in the wilderness. You will be yelling and screaming and running for your life.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Back in the Weeds
Here I've decided to take a couple of pieces from a few years ago and tweak them up a little so that I could pop them up on to my new Etsy page. These paintings were pretty monochromatic before, and I suppose they still are to some degree but I have added some more colour and made some minor adjustments to the drawing and design. These 2 pictures are small - 5 x 7 inches and are watercolour, gouache and pencil crayon on cold pressed paper. I like to think of these little characters sitting on the edge of a field, meditating over the sheep or cows that are just out of sight.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Crow Witch
This drawing doesn't have anything to do with anything I'm currently working on. I really just had a hankering to revisit, my old avatar who keeps a watchful eye on me and my online networking activities.
I hope everyone is having a pleasant Sunday.
More soon.
I hope everyone is having a pleasant Sunday.
More soon.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Getting Warmed Up - Part 2 - Hands
Hands are hard to draw. Much continued practice is required. That's all there is to it. I'm always looking for good hand reference. I can find it in magazines or my wife's crafting and gardening books and of course there are the ones I'm using to type this post. There is no shortage of hands around here, only a shortage of the drawing of hands. In fact, I should probably do some more tomorrow !
Getting Warmed Up - Part 1 - Figures
The Human Figure In Motion by Edward Muybridge is one of my very favourite reference books for the human figure. One of the things I like best about this book is that the pictures are small so if you are going to draw from them you are pretty well forced to deal with the basics like proportion and gesture. There is no room for fancy pencil work here. The pages above were done with a simple gel pen directly on to the paper with no fiddling around or worry about pretty picture making. The idea here is to loosen up and think about the basics of drawing. I like to try and see how long I can leave the pen on the paper before I have to pick it up to start a new line - it's a part of the exercise :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)