Updates: Shows, Morpheus Ravenna, Totems, and more!

Greetings! I am busy as ever, and I am thrilled to announce the following updates. I will blog about each of these projects individually as they unfold, but in the meantime here is a dangerous barrage of updates!

Isis – work in progress. Valerie Herron 2014

I have 2 shows coming up in the next 30 days! I will be showing my soon to be finished Isis piece at Gargoyles Statuary in their Goddess show on June 20th. If you are unfamiliar, Gargoyles Statuary is Seattle, WA’s one stop shoppe for all things dark and dreamy. They have the best selection of gothic statuary that I have ever encountered, as well as beautiful art, handmade fragrances, jewelry, and all manor of accoutrements for the dark arts and decor. If you can’t make it to the show, be sure to check them out online!

Custom Cranium storefront. Sign art by Stephan Maich, photo by Darien.

I will be at the grand opening of Custom Cranium in Eugene, OR on July 1oth with originals, prints, and cards. Custom Cranium is owned and operated by the most fabulous Darien and Adam Prawlocki, proprietors of Custom Cranium online. Be sure to check out and support your local taxidermy artist 🙂

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This is the first of a new line of creations I shall be making, 6″x6″ mixed media on canvas. This one is already sold, but I will be making more. My vision for these pieces is that they will be totemic paintings, shields, and charms. I can already see a million animals, plants, runes, and more items that I will feature in these apotropaic images. Soon I will also be open to taking commissions for these totemic images. I will keep posting them as I create them, so stay tuned!

Perhaps the announcement I am most excited about: I am thrilled to be illustrating in the upcoming book by Morpheus Ravenna : The Book of the Great Queen. Soon to be published by Concrescent Press, this is a book about the Morrígan, Irish raven goddess of sovereignty, battle, and prophecy (also my personal Matron. DREAM PROJECT.) 

The IndieGoGo campaign to fund this amazing tome is at this link. I encourage you to contribute! Support independent authors and publishers, and you know, illustrators 😉

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-book-of-the-great-queen

 

I will try to find time to keep you all updated in the midst of all this madness!

 

All Hail the Mighty Tome

I was super into working in my various sketchbooks this semester. Here are some pearls that have happened over the semester from my personal illuminated manuscripts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Journeys Project

This was my favorite assignment in Illustration Word and Image. We were to make up an explorer and illustrate/document their journey. We had to depict where they went, who they met, what they found etc. and create an illustrated book around this story.
I decided to make a Celtic children’s story: The Journey of Sionann Donnelly. This decision was inspired by a book I recently read, The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog by Patricia Monaghan.  

I made this one another accordion book. I made the cover out of illustration board and book cloth. The image on the cover (drawn with colored pencils) was an homage to one of my favorite motifs from history, The Three Hares. I snuck them in throughout the book.

cover page

Beginning of the story, intro to the character. First illustration shows her home-base (bedroom.)

page 2 and 3 are a little map of the journey…..

SURPRISE! Fold out, detailing the journey

Northern Irish cemetery (sorry about the blurriness)

Biddy Early’s cottage

Newgrange

At the Climax, Sionann is confronted by the goddess Ériu, who chews her out for stealing and tells her to go home.

Sionann flies home, and when she unpacks her things, she finds a book that tells the tale of her journey. 

THE END

There’s a little hidden raven in every image, as Ériu’s raven spies on Sionann throughout the story.

Holy Updates! aka Painting Final from Last Semester

Oh My God, this blog is waaaayyyy overdue to be updated. Professor Kurt Hollomon strongly disapproves!!!! Well, as per his suggestions, I will do my best to keep this thing current.

I will start this mad barrage of updating with my Illustration Painting Final from last semester. I know, that was last December, but I didn’t get the thing back ’til February… and then I got busy. MOVING RIGHT ALONG!

I created a prototype of an illustrated bestiary, specifically about creatures from Anglo-American folklore.

This is an accordion book, the cover created from illustration board and book cloth. Each illustration was 4″x4″, with a little description and background info next to each creature.

I believe the Jackalope needs no introduction. Fear him, he thirsts for your blood.

Ogopogo, the famous lake monster from British Colombia. For reference I used an image of an albino alligator and an image of a white eel.

And my favorite, the Wampus Cat. Obscure, cursed cat-woman from Native American mythology.