Happy Solstice! I posted just a hair too late to make it 6.21.06 but we can pretend. Thanks to Stefan for the lovely photo of the African village which inspred me to draw this instead of some stuffy Victorian ballroom scene. This piece is pretty big. I’m always torn about posting it closer to the actual size because I want to show more of the detail I worked on. Instead, I’m going to post a detail below.
addendum: Summer Solstice – The Longest Day
Also known as Midsummer (as in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream), this is a time when it is said that elves and fairies come out in great numbers and bestow good luck on humans (if treated with respect, of course).
June is also the time when, traditionally, couples who pledged themselves at Beltane would make their wedding vows and, even today, June continues to be the most popular month for weddings.
It was believed that, as the God and Goddess made their sacred union at Beltane in May, it was unlucky for mortals to rival them by wedding at the same time so would wait to make their vows in June.
amy Zaleski
6/22/2006 @ 6:38 am
this is great! It has the Old World feeling to it and it quite romantic, too!
carla
6/22/2006 @ 7:24 am
This is great! I love the subject, and i love the fabulous treatment of the flames. The distant fire against the darkening hills is really cool…it has such a perfect glow. Happy Solstice to you:>
Collin
6/22/2006 @ 11:01 am
Very nice! I really like the sense of depth that you’ve captured quite well, and the lighting is impressive too.
carol
6/22/2006 @ 1:02 pm
charming. lighting is great. characters are still a bit flat but here, it’s the setting that’s compelling.
IdiotHead
6/22/2006 @ 10:10 pm
This is really nice! I like the lighting from the fire. I also very much like the rendering of the fire. A lot to look at here.
8^)
wynlen
6/23/2006 @ 5:08 am
This is beautiful! I love the atmosphere in the illustration, and the girl’s dress is great!
Princess Pepper Cloud
6/24/2006 @ 7:09 pm
My husband and I were married on June22nd. We thought it appropriate because we started dating on Dec 21st. There is so much love and joy in this painting. There always seems to be more to your paintings. Just wonderful!
Christine Lim Simpson
6/25/2006 @ 1:44 am
Excellent light treatment in your illo. Great thoughts behind it too. 🙂