All posts in category ALL ARTWORK

The Harpy, Marta

“On the roof, what did you see?”
“I thought I saw a woman, but all dark and sharp and hunched over the roof tiles like a vulture. …I thought she had wings.”
He sighed. “You won’t always see the wings, but her face remains the same: ageless, vicious; eyes like a mad hawk and a temper to match.” He cast a nervous glance at the rooftops and shivered. “Avoid her. Are you listening? Avoid her, and avoid her eyes. If she looks into your eyes, she’ll know.”

The harpy Marta. Finished sketch of an original character from my own story. :3
Derwent pastels and pencils on recyled paper. 8.6×12 inches.

Prints available, in case you want to scare yourself or your nearest and dearest, Here.

Circe, Goddess of Enchantment

Circe, ancient Greek goddess of enchantments and herbs, made famous by Homer’s Odyssey and the memorable welcome she gave to Osysseus’s crew.
Trespassers upon her island were offered sweet wine laced with a potion that packed a beastly hangover, literally.
The pig, lion, and wolf motif are used a few times (on her tripod, the writing on her arm) as those are what she turned men into – and is doing right at the moment of this scene in fact.
She’s entwined and crowned in Enchanter’s Nightshade, a plant from the Circaea family, named in her honour. Her crown is also decorated with the seed heads of opium poppies.

The original painting was mixed media over acrylics, A3 size (29×42 cms, approx 11.5×16.5 inches)

Prints available here.

Work in progress pics:

Finalised composition sketched

Colour palette for the Circe painting

Reference: diadems unearthed by Heinrich Schliemann from supposed site of Troy.

Circe painting WIP (makeup), Soni Alcorn-Hender

Reference: the painted cheeks of Mycenaean women circa 1300 BC.

2 Comments

by Soni Alcorn-Hender on Friday 31, August, 2018 • Permalink

Posted in ALL ARTWORK

Tagged art PORTRAITS, art WORK-IN-PROGRESS, cards ART FOR BASECARDS, cards PERNASTUDIOS, mythG ANCIENT GREECE, MYTHOLOGY, ppl BEAUTIFUL WOMEN, ppl WITCH

Posted by Soni Alcorn-Hender on Friday 31, August, 2018

https://bohemianweasel.com/2018/08/31/circe-goddess-of-enchantment/

Spirit of Spring

Painting was done in *everything*. I mean just Everything. (Pencil, acrylic, pastel, gouache, acrylic ink, pearl paint, gold paste, gold leaf, *and evidently everything within arm’s radius of my desk*) on paper, 21×29 cms.
(She has flappy lamb’s ears because she is a deer-ish/ lamb-ish lady, not an Elf, hence the little hoofies. :) )

Work in progress shots:

Spirit of Spring, WIP, Soni Alcorn-Hender

Spirit of Spring detail, Soni Alcorn-Hender

Prints and pretty things available here.

by Soni Alcorn-Hender on Monday 23, July, 2018 • Permalink

Posted in ALL ARTWORK

Tagged art PORTRAITS, book ORIGINAL CREATIONS, MYTHOLOGY, ppl BEAUTIFUL WOMEN, ppl ELEMENTALS, ppl SATYRS, season-SPRING

Posted by Soni Alcorn-Hender on Monday 23, July, 2018

https://bohemianweasel.com/2018/07/23/spirit-of-spring/

Thranduil in Winter

“But there was in Thranduil’s heart a still deeper shadow. He had seen the horror of Mordor and could not forget it. If ever he looked south its memory dimmed the light of the Sun.”
JRR Tolkien, Unfinished Tales

The Elvenking in Winter (book version)
Acrylics, pure silver leaf, and 22k gold leaf on paper; 21×29 cms.
Prints etc. available here.

Work in progress:

2 Comments

by Soni Alcorn-Hender on Monday 5, March, 2018 • Permalink

Posted in ALL ARTWORK, LotR & Hobbit

Tagged art effect GILDING & FILIGREE, art PORTRAITS, season-WINTER, Tolkien BOOK-INSPIRED ILLUSTRATIONS, Tolkien HOBBIT BOOK, Tolkien ppl THRANDUIL, Tolkien races ELVES, Tolkien SILMARILLION

Posted by Soni Alcorn-Hender on Monday 5, March, 2018

https://bohemianweasel.com/2018/03/05/thranduil-in-winter/

Love Conquers All

‘Love Conquers All’, dangerous Eros, by Soni Alcorn-Hender

Work-in-progress detail of gold leafing behind his head:

~ Guards from Mount Olympus are seeking a dangerous madman who escaped on Valentine’s day: Eros, also known as Cupid. He’s naked, armed, and terrifyingly interested in your love life.
If you see him you’re advised to run to your nearest shrine, make an offering to Zeus, and ask to be turned into a tree. ~

Acrylics, chalk, pencils, and gold leaf on paper.
Prints etc available here.

The Lonely Mountain

“And then Bilbo saw a sight…”

The Lonely Mountain, from the book ‘The Hobbit’ by JRR Tolkien.
This is the second in a series of landscapes inspired by both Britain and Middle-earth – this one based on Buachaille Etive Mòr in the Highlands of Scotland.

Acrylics, pencil, pastel, gouache, tea, dragon scales, and the indignation of surly Dwarves; then a smidge of digital editing including the frame.
A3 / 12×17 inches
Prints available here.

Work in progress and details:

The Lonely Mountain, work in progress

The Lonely Mountain, work in progress (and my studio)

The Lonely Mountain, work in progress

The Old Forest

” ‘They do not like all that about ending and failing,’ said Merry. ‘I should not sing any more at present. Wait till we get to the edge, and then we’ll turn and give them a rousing chorus!’ ”
—The Old Forest, Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien.

– I just learned that this will be the cover of the Tolkien Society’s annual publication: the ‘Mallorn’! :)

The first in a series of landscapes inspired by both Britain and Middle-earth – this one based on the forest of Padley Gorge in Derbyshire. Though I think the trees there are less likely to eat you.

Acrylics, pencil, pastel, gouache, tea, cat hair, and the withered deathless malicious and malignant soul of a really evil tree – on paper (also made from trees, maybe evil), and then some digital colouring and fannying about.
A3 / 12×17 inches
Prints available here.

Work in progress and details:

Old Forest, work in progress 1

Old Forest, work in progress 2

Old Forest, work in progress 3

Old Forest, detail: Tree faces

Old Forest, detail: Merry and Frodo

2 Comments

by Soni Alcorn-Hender on Tuesday 21, November, 2017 • Permalink

Posted in ALL ARTWORK, LotR & Hobbit

Tagged art LANDSCAPE, art SCENE, land ENGLAND, land TREES, Tolkien BOOK-INSPIRED ILLUSTRATIONS, Tolkien LOTR BOOKS, Tolkien m-e LANDSCAPES, Tolkien m-e LANDSCAPES OF MIDDLE-EARTH & BRITAIN, Tolkien races HOBBITS

Posted by Soni Alcorn-Hender on Tuesday 21, November, 2017

https://bohemianweasel.com/2017/11/21/the-old-forest/

The Black Rider

“ ‘…You won’t go far. They will come on you in the wild, in some dark place where there is no help. Do you wish them to find you? They are terrible!’ “

(Aragorn to the Hobbits at Bree) Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien.

Work in progress, showing also the five early draughts I did for this painting. They’re numbered so I could hold a vote to ask followers on Facebook which sketch they wanted to see made into a painting, and #2 won.

This finished painting will (omg eventually) be part of a big art giveaway contest on Facebook, please keep an eye on my page for details.

Smaug, the Unassessably Wealthy

Smaug

‘Smaug the Terrible’ dragon from the (film-version) of The Hobbit.
In his treasure are actual little gems, a tiiiny Arkenstone, and enough 22k gold leaf to even satisfy a Dwarf, briefly.

This shiny, jewel-encrusted wyrm will be one of the prizes in my art giveaway for the winner to choose from! Keep an eye on my Facebook page to see the other art prizes as they’re finished, and then for the contest itself afterwards!
A4 / 8×11.5″, acrylics, pencil, gold paint, liquid gold, 22k gold leaf, and glass crystals of various sizes.