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akitku — A Pagan Song
Published: 2012-08-30 17:52:41 +0000 UTC; Views: 906; Favourites: 29; Downloads: 0
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Description
I’ve always been fascinated by the role songs played in magic-making in many traditions. In the Finnish Kalevala there are people singing each other into lakes and bogs if I remember correctly. And apparently songs were important folk tradition for the Estonian people as well and similarly strongly associated with magic. So here is Nenue, participant of the Estonian uprising on the night of st. George, singing a pagan song.I haven't drawn trees for some time now. It was fun!
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Comments: 29
The tree behind Nenue reminds me of a more realistic rendition of the "world tree" concept.
It's interesting that all the leaves are on the floor instead of the tree. The leaves almost look like they're about to swallow up Nenue. You got the surreal feel down quite nicely.
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I'm so glad it does! That's kind of what I was going for! You know i noticed I hardly ever draw leaves on branches, I guess I just like drawing the branches themselves!
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I really like the composition. The pale figure framed by the tree works so well.
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Thank you very much! I'm glad you think it works!
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Looks great. I like the whole look of this picture, quite moving. I love reading about the histories of music and this kind of thing has come up a couple of times.
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I'm glad you think it's moving, thank you! I really wanted to make the song seem powerful. Have you come upon any other examples of magic-singing other than the Kalevala?
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Not that I can -really- remember. Its mostly the finnish like you've already said but I swear I read somewhere about another culture with magical singing. I'll have to look through my books again and see if I can't find what that culture was.
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I like the simple composition - the branches of the tree spread out like the sound of Nenue's voice. I'd add more dark tones to the legs, though - down around the ferns and near the hem of the tunic. The silhouette of the singer would then be more 'in' the picture. Unless, of course, it was your aim to make the singer seem a bit otherworldly (in which case consider the shading advice unsaid).
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Thank you! You are right about the trousers - they should be more shaded (I think I was being lazy!) I did want to make him a bit otherwordly, but I think even then you're right I should have added somemore dark tones there. 
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This looks great!
I really like the way you drew the plants, they kind of look like the sea/ a wave. I also like that the clothing has colours similar to the tree.
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I really like what you said about the plants looking like a wave! That's a beautiful way of describing it, thank you! <3
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Fotografia naprawdę intrygująca. Pięknie malujesz. A ja opisałam tylko to, co czuję, patrząc...
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Making leafes this beatifull with watercolor must have taken you time and it looks amazing! ^^ I also like the sky very much. You produce such rich vobrant colors!
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Thank you so much. Actually I wasn't too happy with them - they don't look all that much like fern I'm afraid. But I'm so glad you like them!
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This is really beautiful!
You created a very nice structure with the big leafs on the ground.
And I totally love his face and the overall magical atmosphere of the drawing, it's truly fascinating!
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I'm glads you think the atmosphere is magical - that's what I was going for. Thank you!
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So they have Bracken in Estonia , too! One of the facinating things about the Kalevala is the notion of the power of song- you must be referring to the duel between Joukahainen and Väinämöinen , where the the former did indeed wind up being sung into the earth, into a bog. It was Väinämöinen who invented the kantele, the Finnish harp, from the jawbone of a Pike.
Your trees continue to improve . I wonder what Estonian songs of the period would have sounded like?
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Bracken? I have never heard this word before. The duel between Vainamoinen and Joukhainen was exactly what I was talking about! It's a great scene. The whole Kalevala is full of beautiful imagery, I am very fond of it.
I'm glad you think the trees are getting better. I have a lot of trouble with foliage though, so they're all bare, which is a shame!
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I see it was a mistake to think I could tell you anything about the Kalevala! I, too, am very fond of it.
Bracken must be a local word- the ferns (which is what they are) grow to be head height in summer, which makes trying to push a path through them quite an adventure. You have the foliage just right though; as for trees, a couple of tips- if they are distant, think broccoli- that is to say, think of the leaves as clumps, with shading at the bottom of the clump and a kind of prickly texture overall. Nearer to, remember that leaves turn to face the sun, so what you will have is a series of more or less parallel planes, stacked in layers. The top layers catch the most light- and between layers it can get quite dark- in watercolor, you try for a light green 'pat' with the end of the brush (over a dry sky color if it's a kind of tree with small leaves, producing a repetition of the same shape over and over, same orientation- when it's dry, you add the darker accents underneath . Look closely next time you see a tree, you might see what I'm talking about more easily. Of course, the leaves occurr mainly on the fine twiggy ends of the branches- think of a many armed (and fingered) being holding out his hands to the sun.
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Thanks for all the tips! I will have to try doing a leaf-covered tree for a change!
So bracken is fern? I didn't know that. They do have them in Estonia. In Poland too. We have a pretty cool, though slightly haunting folk-tale about fern flowers (obviously ferns don't actually bloom).
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No, actually the spores form on the underside of the foliage in the autumn. Around here bracken is regarded as a nuisance, as it tends to obliterate paths, and no fun to push through on a rainy day-rather like swimming with your clothes on.
Could I please hear the pretty cool though slightly haunting folk tale about the fern flowers?
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I wish I could hear that song, it must be beautiful according to his face.
The tree is greatly drawed!
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Thank you so much for the comment. I'm glad you say so! I love drawing trees very much!
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Ten obraz rozbrzmiewa muzyką... Przecież wykonanie pieśni w bliskości drzewa, zaniesienie jej do gwiazd, wprowadza nas w magiczny krąg, prastary krąg.
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Bardzo dziękuje za piękny komentarz! Wydaje mi się ze lepiej namalowałaś słowami to co chciałam przekazać niż ja akwarelą!
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Oh, its amazing as always honey.
I love the leafs!!!!
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Thanks!
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