Hey everyone!
This is the first submission I'm posting for the year! I actually finished this piece a while ago sometime in December and only tweaked it a bit here and there this year. This is my pin-upesque inspired interpretation of Sleeping Beauty from the original French writer, Perrault. I also want to eventually do a Beauty and the Beast illustration to compliment this piece(though perhaps a little less darker), but that may not happen for a while.
Like all fairy tales that are butchered for today's audience, I wanted to give hints to the tales' original and darker roots. La Belle Au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty) is a lot darker than I had originally recalled it to be with rape involved. The rapist disturbingly is either the king or the prince, who was suppose to 'save' her depending on the version. If rape wasn't the only injustice befalling the poor thing, the princess doesn't wake up from a loving kiss. She wakes up realizing she gave birth to twins named, Le Jour and La Aurora in her sleep after one of them bit her finger, drawing the flax or poison out of her body. Like all fairy tales, this one is dark and heinous and yet the story produced one of my favorite Disney movies. Sadness! Maleficent is still amazing as the 'wicked fairy' and the self proclaimed 'Mistress of All Evil'. It's so interesting how fairy tales change immensely from their origin to modern day!
I think when I created this piece, I wanted it to have a certain beauty and charm like a fantastical, dark dream yet still give the viewer the nightmarish vibe of 'Something isn't right!' or 'What's this unsettlingly feeling?' The more the viewer look at the image the more dark it gets; from the Art Nouveau umbilical cord leading from the princess's stomach to the twin embryos, the white(purity) dress turning a light red(lost innocence) as it nears the bottom, or the dark and sinister presence of the princely figure whisking the princess away to who knows where.
With all the bitterness and darkness of the tale, I still hope everyone enjoys the illustration to some extent whatever it may be. Until next time! Bye guys!
Media: Pencil and Photoshop
Copyrights: All rights of this piece belongs to J.S. Choi (C)
DO NOT USE!
`anmari has been spreading her infectious positivity throughout our community for over 6 years. Throughout this time Ana has been at the core of all things devious, passionately developing an eclectic gallery, helping organise devmeets, participating in chat events and also recently completed dedicating her time as a Community Volunteer. We are absolutely delighted to bestow the Deviousness Award for May 2013 to `anmari, congratulations! Read More
Sta.sh
Thank you for the compliment. I try to do my best to represent the particular era in art. Mucha and Beardsley have such phenomenal skills-- I hope to accomplish even just a small inkling of their abilities one day. They really put the scales high for artists influenced by their work. Once again, thank you for the comment. It's a pleasure to read. Good day.
I'm glad you enjoy the original tale- Well, enjoying it as much as one can get with such a dark contented story. ^_^;
Thank you for the kind comment. I appreciate the fact you think it's 'awesome'. Much obliged!
And you are very welcome
You succeeded with an edge!
Be welcome!
I love this, so very much~