Hymns to Enchantments

Hymns to Enchantments

​"Hymns to Enchantments" - oil on paper, 22 x 30.  Available here and at Artfinder.

The wild god dances with your dog.
You dance with the sparrows.
A white stag pulls up a stool
And bellows hymns to enchantments.
A pelican leaps from chair to chair.

In the distance, warriors pour from their tombs.
Ancient gold grows like grass in the fields.
Everyone dreams the words to long-forgotten songs.
The hills echo and the grey stones ring
With laughter and madness and pain.
​
In the middle of the dance,
The house takes off from the ground.
Clouds climb through the windows;
Lightning pounds its fists on the table
And the moon leans in.
 - from Sometimes a Wild God by Tom Hirons

Ooooooooh the wild god is running rampant around the studio! Enchantment is everywhere. Stags bellowing, sparrows dancing, pelicans leaping, lightning pounding fists.

I continue my exploration of Hiron's poem, which is nearly always running through my thoughts.  The A.I. bot is fickle like the muse...you have to show up regularly to get good results.  This inspiration image was created on a very good day with the bot.  So much magic; only two hands to paint it with.  And then the moon leans in.

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About the art:  this piece, a full sheet of Arches oil paper, was a dance in itself.  Wanting to capture the essence of the inspiration image, but lighten the ominousness of it a bit, I began with a background of layered oil paints thinned with liquin and applied with a rubber wedge and paper towel.  A light sketch in colored pencil and then working methodically right to let (I am largely a southpaw, so trying to keep my arm from dragging through the paint) and from top to bottom.  Using negative space to define the figures.  Building layers with brushes and wedges, then drawing back into the paint with a bit of paint thinner on a brush to create the delicious runny "swirlyness" that the bot does so well.

You might notice the bot does not do hands well - take a look at the inspiration image. It's good to know artificial intelligence has creative limits. :)

inspiration image

work in process

adding color

wardrobe