Lights All Askew in the Heavens

More illustrations for the horse book. The author wanted a couple of ancient art pieces, depicted in paint for clarity and emphasis. The first, an image from a cave wall, was fairly easy and fun to do...

The other was a particular section of the Bayeux Tapestry--she wanted it bright, and bold, as though we were seeing it freshly-embroidered, so a photograph wouldn't do, even if good detail shots were available on the cheap (which they're not).

I have a pretty good sense of how quickly I can paint something of a certain size, and had this been a painting of a photographed scene, I could have done it in a day-and-a-half's long work. So I had presumed, after an cursory examination of the Tapestry's simple forms and limited palette, that this would go even quicker.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Turns out replicating another person's gesture, spindly lines, and erratic color choice, on a mostly two-dimensional image that is just textured enough to catch light like a three-dimensional object...well, it's a different set of challenges. So four days later, still not altogether satisfied with the result, I'm feeling a little humbled. Here's how it went, anyway: