Sisters Of The Red Moon ~2

This is a re-working of a piece I did earlier... the original version is here.
This time I have gone for a 48 x 36 inch canvas... although I loved the first one, there were a couple of issues I wanted to adjust slightly, then the gallery asked for some dark or mysterious pieces in time for Halloween, and I knew this would be perfect!

(click to enlarge & see the detail)

I wanted a slightly softer feel to the swirl of the 'red moon' & to lose the dominant red streaks between the verses of version 1... also the red lettering first time around got absorbed into the background & I had to go over it which resulted in a loss of sharpness to the letterforms. To counteract that, I sprayed fixative over the background first & used a more orangey red that would contrast more.

The background was a matt water-based black, with various black acrylic & enamel streaks & splashes to create texture with a few tones of red acrylic, topped off with some bronze powder to add highlights that catch the light.

This time I opted for brush lettering to give a bit more freedom to the lettering, but also more weight so that the words carried as much impact as the background. Also, this was a new piece of work... i didn't want to just re-create the first piece. I felt that the title & author should be integrated into the text, not just placed top & bottom... i went for a total contrast... an out-lined version of Neuland, a typeface designed by Rudolf Koch. 

to visit Mel, who wrote this go here

Mel wove a tapestry of feeling in this poem with layers of meaning... I tried to create layers & depth... both the words & the canvas can be taken at face value.... or you can look deeper & intuit the mystery beneath....

we have met before, you and i
somewhen, somewhere.
in time out of time, the space between,
the  space where the veil thins and the mist floats across
moonlit oceans.


in the swirling chaos of now,
tendrils of light flicker in the darkness.
reminders of a lost tribe,
of ancient ways where blood was holy
and wisdom shared.


reaching across the chasm of time.
over expanse of space and the shackles of fate
there is hope that in the dreaming
of this and other things, we shall meet again.
somewhen, somewhere.


by melanie leavey

Sisters Of The Red Moon

36 x 48 inches on canvas

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