while i’m sure it’s certainly cool to be chosen by a deity for worship/devotion, i think there’s something beautiful about choosing them instead. having little to no signs from a deity, but seeing them and saying “yes. yes. yes. you are the one i want to devote myself to. work on myself for. be a part of your life as you are mine.” as a practitioner and then setting forth. i personally feel like we don’t have many options in life, so it’s nice to be the one to decide.
St. Michael and the dragon
While this took me a whole lot of time to finish, I am very pleased with the end result, both compositionally and in regard to the colour scheme.
The idea for the ornate, white armour in particular came from an illustration of St. Michael in the book of hours of Henry IV of France, which looks like this:
Also, fun-fact: my hometown celebrates an annual little festival, which as its centre piece features a moving mechanical figure of St. Michael slaying the devil, the colour-scheme of which I also referenced for this painting.
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Close-ups:
"And down in Hades, your father will care for all the rest" -from Euripides' "The Trojan Women"
I will never be free of the Hector sadness. also Scamandrius was technically the last king of Troy which is something I think about sometimes and feel normal and sane.
Isn't it actually so beautiful that deities take the time to try and guide and teach us? How wonderful is it that they care for us so deeply that they'd share their wisdom, knowledge, and insight so freely? I think a deity's love is something to be cherished, and I cherish this. 🧡✨
You know, there’s something poetic in Hades being both the deity and the place. His watching over the deceased is such a big part of the deity that he is also the place the deceased go. It’s so integral to him that he is inseparable from the place.