Marian finished.

I've finished my painting 'Marian'. It's also been added to my store, in the 'light fantasy section.


Marian by ~dashinvaine on deviantART

Lady of Shalott finished

I think this painting's about finished. On to the next thing...

The Lady of Shalott by ~dashinvaine on deviantART

The Lady of Shalott and Melancholy Maidens.

As well as working on several commissions, I'm in the middle of a personal piece, a largeish oil painting of the Lady of Shalott, from Tennyson' enigmatic poem. The enchanted lady lives in a tower adjacent to Camelot. She is under a curse preventing her from beholding or engaging with the real world. She can only see it in a mirror pointed at the window, and sits weaving the reflected images. However when Sir Lancelot rides by she turns and sees for real, and the curse comes upon her. She goes out and finds a boat, and drifts down the river, but is dead by the time she arrives at Camelot. This poem struck a chord with the Preraphaelites, and other romantic Victorian painters, most notably J. W. Waterhouse, who created at least three different takes on the topic.


On the subject, I've made a new Youtube slideshow featuring some of my melancholy/romantic maidens done over the course of the last decade or so. This can be checked out on my Youtube page.