"The words danced around her like butterflies on tiny little golden wings. Butterfly is a golden word, she thought. It smells of honeycomb....."
As soon as I read ORFEIA I wanted to illustrate every single page. Joanne had written a truly compelling story which was also a visual feast waiting for me to draw. Due to the constraints of the printed book I was only allowed to work in black & white. Its always a challenge to create eye catching art in only two colours, but with this story in particular, I thought it was a shame not to add something extra. So having waited for the book to be published, I at last could start working on my true vision.
First you must know that all the original illustrations were drawn on slightly tinted paper, its much easier on my eyes when drawing all that tiny detail, but also I love the antique look, it feels both contemporary and timeless at the same.
Although the prints are available at A3 size on my website, this special one is much larger, the over all paper size is 24" wide by 18.5" tall. The print is placed centrally on the paper with an approx. 2.5" border which allows me to add my hand drawn kaleidoscope of butterflies, which are both on the print but also fluttering across the page.
The butterflies are drawn in Gold, Renaissance Gold, Copper and (only one) in Silver ink. I actually don't know how many butterflies I have drawn on this image, I stopped counting after 20. The butterflies vary in size, the Gold ones standout very well while those drawn in Renaissance Gold and Copper are much more subtle.
This is a unique one of a kind piece of artwork and would normally retail at £175 in the gallery that represents me. However if you would like to own it please contact me via email 52crows2018@gmail.com or DM me via Twitter @BHHillustration.
I do plan to select further favourite illustrations from ORFEIA to hand finish in a similar manner. If you have a favourite illustration, let me know and maybe I can personalise it for you.
Comments