painting: "Here Comes the War"

[helenic]

This is a painting I did as a gift for romauld last summer, based on his werewolf character of the same name (C also very kindly modelled for it). I've only just got round to getting it framed. My digital camera doesn't have great focus, so it was struggling to capture all of the detail, the texture and the colours. The lighter areas are somewhat lighter in real life, and the blue/red colour contrast is more pronounced, but these shots give a fair impression of it.

Romauld: Here Comes the War, Oil on Canvas, 20" x 16" (August 2004)




(taken with flash, showing the hues better, but lacking intensity)


(taken without flash, to get a better impression of the brushwork and light/dark contrast)

Comments

[yiskah.livejournal.com]

Wow, Helen, that's amazingly good!

[libellum.livejournal.com]

really? thankyou! I've been a lot happier with it since I framed it and finally gave it to him properly last night (it had been passing back and forth between us for a while prior to that). When I finished it last August I couldn't stand it, but I suppose that's entirely normal. Mainly I'm just relieved to have finally finished something :)

[mirabehn.livejournal.com]

And I say again - it is amazing and you are wonderful. :)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

I hope you manage to de-flop soon. food will probably help. has being alone caused the sudden crash, or were you feeling terrible before?

*more hugs*

[adamw]

Rather good that :-)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

glad you like it!

[deborah_c]

That's wonderful! I only wish I'd seen the actual picture while it was in Cambridge.

I'm constantly amazed at the spectactular talents of all my friends...

[libellum.livejournal.com]

ah, you'll have to come to Finchley sometime :) To be honest it was in London for most of last autumn, then I took it with me to Leicester to get it framed for cheap, yo. And it's been wrapped up since I moved in, so no-one else has seen it either ;)

I'm constantly amazed at the spectactular talents of all my friends...

God, I know ... I confess that wanting to feel like I deserved to be part of this group of incredible writers and actors and musicians was one of the things motivating me to finally post some of my recent art :) But I probably shouldn't admit to that...

[chocolatebird.livejournal.com]

That's wonderful!

[libellum.livejournal.com]

thank you!

[beeswing.livejournal.com]

That's absolutely stunning, Helen. You're a marvelous artist, and romauld is very lucky to have such a painting.

[beeswing.livejournal.com]

Meaning, I think, that I spend too much time in the National Portrait Gallery whenever I can. And think that to have a good portrait of oneself is a rare and wonderful thing.

[verte.livejournal.com]

Good frame! And wow, it's lovely. I hope C likes it as much as we all do. Why did he want a rping character done, and not a self-portrait, out of interest?

[libellum.livejournal.com]

He didn't - that was entirely my idea. Mainly because at the time I was starting it last summer, I didn't really know him well enough to commit to doing a portrait of him. I wasn't sure that the aspects of his personality I'd put into it would be real ones, or the most important ones, when I looked back on it. I didn't want to be responsible for the version of him I put into it when I knew my perspective was so ... short-term.

Also, just as a matter of trivia, it's not an rpg character - it's the character he was cast as in the film that never got off the ground, the one he wrote the screenplay for.

anyway. < /geek > glad you like the finished version too :)

[theobscureone.livejournal.com]

That's amazing. Well done.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

thank you :)

[taimatsu]

Oh, gosh, that's amazing! You're so talented :)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

eee! thankyou! *loves the icon*

[gnimmel.livejournal.com]

Coo, that's really rather good.
Both a very good likeness and yet also suitably atmospheric for its theme :)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

erm... wow, thankyou! gosh, compliments from you are quite overwhelming :)

atmospherically it's far far too much of teh GOTH, but that was, um, ironic. or something. I mean, when you get right down to it, it is of a werewolf.

[aiwendel.livejournal.com]

bloody hell - that's utterly fantastic!!!
*deadimpressed*!!!!!!
go you!!
xxxxxxxxxxxx

[libellum.livejournal.com]

*is chuffed* ... I'm still not happy with it, obviously, but glad you like! :)

[atreic.livejournal.com]

That's incredable

And everything always looks better when you come back to it, because your last memory is always "grr, I couldn't fix that" and your first look six months later will be "wow, I did all that!"

[libellum.livejournal.com]

mm, that's very true. Mainly I was really angry with it at the time for never being finished. So you just have to decide it's finished and walk away, and hope that when you come back to it you've stopped wanting to smother the thing in yellow ochre :)

[ixwin.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous

*wants to see more of your art*

[libellum.livejournal.com]

thankyou!

ah, but maybe you will, soon ... *plots*

[the-waves.livejournal.com]

wow. fantastic.
you're brilliant.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

thank you!

[yvesilena.livejournal.com]

Hey, that's GREAT.

*boggles*

[libellum.livejournal.com]

really? wow, thankyou :)

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

You really *got* the eyes. Marvellous job!

[libellum.livejournal.com]

you think so? personally I think they're too far apart, but apparently that's a compliment :) anyway, thankyou!

[sisuphos.livejournal.com]

You've earnt yourself another commission, if you want one.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

really? email me: melusine at gwydion dot net. I can't do anything before February 'cause of degree stuff, though.

[kungfuchaos.livejournal.com]

swa heet.

have you changed your phone? jus wondering if you fancied a quick catch up chat sometime! hope terms got off to a good start! x

[libellum.livejournal.com]

not recently: does the one you have end 154? there's a link in my userinfo anyway.

I'm sort of uber-busy at the moment, but yea, a catch-up sometime would be grand :)

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

That's fantastic!

...though he does also look a bit like Oliver Platt...

Count me in with those who want to see more artwork from you. =)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

ah, that'd be the goatee and the smug expression. we had this conversation last time we watched The Three Musketeers. He's a fine actor actually - I was very impressed by him in The West Wing. Anyway, just to aid recognition, here is a picture of him in armour and a crown:



anyway :) glad you like it! I have very little recent artwork apart from sketchbooks, and no way are they going online. And I doubt anyone's interested in seeing my AS-level efforts. But as and when I produce anything I'm pleased with, you'll certainly get to see it :)

[the-lady-lily.livejournal.com]

Wow :)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

thanks! oh, and thanks for being so helpful yesterday as well! Paris is now booked :)

[lsur.livejournal.com]

Impressive!

[libellum.livejournal.com]

thank you!

[mijra.livejournal.com]

I'm... flabbergasted. I'm fascinated by the textures. And this from someone who's been visiting art exhibitions for the past few days.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

thankyou :) I wish I'd been able to get a better photograph of it.

[medieval-bunny.livejournal.com]

Stunning! Love the sense of mood; Bram Stoker/Gary Oldman, eat your heart out! (yes, I know, werewolf not vampire. Just a mood thing)
The brushwork is amazingly controlled, how long did it take?
I can't paint for shit, I just sketch, so am in awe.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

yes, the mood is very much Teh Goth :)

it took far too long, mainly because I was doing it in spare hours after work, rather than sitting down for a few days and busting it out, which is how I work best. I'm not sure what the total count of hours is. About 100?

I'd love to see some of your sketches sometime :)

[(Anonymous)]

lovely; the double eclipse of the face and the moon. Come and paint for me!,
renee,

[libellum.livejournal.com]

hey, glad you like it :)

I do take commissions, but, um, I imagine you're as poor as I am... anyway, thankyou!

[mostlyacat.livejournal.com]

WOW! Hail Helen! You are amazing.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

eeeeeee! thankyou!