#and tracing their faces and then coulouring it in

[chiptrillino]

you mentioned youve been drawing for over 15 years,,, can i ask if you can show any older art?

im a rather young artist but ive been drawing for around 3 years so i feel very discouraged with my progress. around what time did you become comfortable with your art?

(ID in ALT text) at least i tried roughly i am sorry

this took me a while to reply, hope you are still around anon. I really mean it when i say "i have always been drawing". i could dig up even older drawings i did (courtesy of momerrino's inability to trow anything away) but sorting through that could take forever...

so here is a brief selection. some can be found when you go back to the beginnings of my tumblr here. or on my old DeviantArt account or twitter.

i was around 14 in 2009 i am 30 now. idk improving takes time and patience. and perhaps even to learn to appreciate your own pen ship.

[lukeskywaker4ever]

How King João choose Philippa of Lancaster for his wife!!

Before being the chosen one by King João I of Portugal, John of Gaunt tried to married Philippa with other Kings, one of them was her cousin Richard II who was a child at the time, and also the King of France. It is known that Eustace Dechamps wrote a poem called The Floure and the Leaf where the dedicate a part to Philippa, calling the Flower:

Pour ce que j'ay oy parler en France

De deux ordres en l'amoureuse loy,

Que dames ont chascune en defferance,

L'une fueille et l'autre fleur, j'octroy

Mon corps, mon cuer a la fleur; et pourquoy?

Pour ce qu'en tout a pris, loange et grace

Plus que fueille qui en pourre trespasse

Et n'a au mieux fors que verde coulour,

Et la fleur a beaut6 qui trestout passe.

A droit jugier je me tien a la fleur

 Celle doit on avoir en reverance,

Sy l'y aray; qu'en toutes choses voy

Loer la fleur en bonté, en vaillance,

En tous deduis, en manniere, en arroy;

S'on scet rien bon, c'est la flour pour un roy.

En tous estas vient la fleur a plaisance:

De tout dit on, et par grant exellance,

Que cilz ou celle a la fleur sans retour

De quoy que soit, tele est l'acoustumance:

A droit jugier je me tien a la fleur

 Amour la sieut, doulz desir, esperance,

Beauté, bonté, et de tous loer l'oy.

Coulour, odour et fruit de souffisance

Viennent de ly. Maiz mie n'apergoy

Que la fueille ait nulle vertu en soy,

Ne que dougour, fruit, ne grant plaisir face,

Maiz maintes foys apalit et efface,

Ne rien ne voy en li de grant vigour

Fors de couvrir la fleur dessus sa place:

A droit jugier je me tien la fleur

 Celle humble flour aray en remembrance

Qui tant noble est, humble et de maintien coy,

Que n'est tresor, pierre, avoir ne finance,

Qui comparer peust a li par ma foy.

Son ordre prain et humblement regoy,

Qui plus digne est d'esmeraude ou topace:

 Guillaume fay La Tremouille, or li place

Que du porter me face tant d'onour;

Car ordre n'est qui plus mon cuer solace.

A droit jugier je me tien a la fleur

Et qui vouldra avoir la congnoissance

Du tresdoulx nom que par oir congnoy

Et du pais ou est sa demourance

Voist en l'ille d'Albyon en recoy,

En Lancastre le trouvera, ce croy.

P. H. et E. L. I. P. P. E. trace,

Assemble tout; ces .viii. lettres compasse,

S'aras le nom de la fleur de valour,

Qui a gent corps, beaux yeux et douce face.

Au droit jugier je me tien a la fleur

 Royne d'amours, de douce contenance,

Qui tout passez en senz et en honnour,

Plus qu'a la fueille vous faiz obeissance:

A droit jugier je me tien a la fleur.

Trying to conquer Castile throne, John of Gaunt saw in Portugal a big ally, especially after the Windsor Treaty being signed in May 1386 (being the oldest alliance that still exists today). 

On  July 7, 1386 - John of Gaunt departs from Plymouth with his two unmarried daughters...and 20,000 men! Arriving in Corunna on August 9th. 

Taking advantage of the occasion of the Duke of Lencastre to meet in Galicia, D. João I arranged to meet him at Ponte do Mouro. A single arch bridge raised on the high slopes of the Mouro River, a tributary of the Minho River situated between Melgaço (that at the time was parte of Galizia, now it is Portuguese territory) and Monção.

This meeting took place on November 1, 1386 - the year after the Battle of Aljubarrota. D. João I, coming from Porto, appeared with his host on the left bank while the Duke, coming from Celanova, appeared on the right bank also with his people. Fernão Lopes tells us that D. João I crossed the bridge and joined the Duke on a slope, where they were both welcomed and embraced, after which they passed below the river, where a large tent was pitched. who out of the King of Spain in the royal battle. Here it was a matter of establishing the alliance between Portugal and England, combining the marriage of D. João I with the daughter of the Duke, D. Filipa de Lencastre.

When John of Gaunt met with D. João I at Ponte de Mouro, Gaunt’s second wife and daughters were already at or on their way to the 10th century Benedictine monastery at Celanova, relatively close to the Portuguese border, where they would be staying as they waited for news from Ponte de Mouro. Philippa, Gaunt’s daughter by his first wife Blanche of Lancaster was probably well aware that her father’s negotiations with the Portuguese King were likely to lead her to a royal marriage in Portugal. Her halfsister Catherine must have been equally aware that she might have to participate in a matrimonial link of some sort, in the pursuit of her father’s Castilian ambitions. 

The meeting at Ponte de Mouro took place initially on the Galician side, then on the Portuguese side. As if to underline his power and reputation, D. João I entertained Gaunt inside the tent he had captured at Aljubarrota in the previous year, from the very same Castilian monarch they were both plotting to overthrow4 . The conditions upon which D João I was to provide help to Gaunt were established; D. João I would assist Gaunt in Castile with a force of 5,000 men.

To help to consolidate the alliance, John of Gaunt gave King João I the opportunity to choose one of his two daughters: Philippa who at the time was 26 years old, and Catherine who was 14 at time, as his wife and future Queen of Portugal.

João, who at the age of 7 was made Master of Aviz and military and religious order, had a deep education, learning every language, military and religious stuff and because of that he could speak French very well and read a lot of books too. So when John of Gaunt offer him the choice of one of his daughters, João had already made up his mind. Since Catherine could be Queen of Castile and had just one less than a year ago a battle against Juan of Castile, the last thing João want was to have more trouble and battles with the neighbor country. Besides Catherine was his cousin, since his father King Pedro and John of Gaunt’s wife Constanza’s father were cousins. So there was only one option. The legend said that when he told John of Gaunt his choice he said to him: “My Lord I already made my mind and to phrase Dechamps: “Je me tien a la fleur” (I stand with the flower). 

And that was the way King João I of Portugal choose Philippa of Lancaster as his wife.

[ggracemflower]

^ Life and Death-Rose evaluations ^

-Here I have my enitial ideas on tracing paper, (1) from that I have recreated my ideas in charcoal and chalk on warm grey tinted paper, (2) continuing with the chalk and charcoal I have also interpreted the life and death pages with the rose using a positive/negative technique.(3)

-In couloured pencils I have tested the rough and calm page to see how the different media and level of familiarity affects the work as coloured pencils is not a media I have much experience with. (4)

-Here I was more inspired by the artists Florian nicolle and Agnes Cecile using free expressive strokes and movements to explore the silhouette of the hands taken from the creation of Adam by Michaelangelo, i added a pop of blue by using tissue paper inspired by Bridget rust a mixed media artist. (5)

-Here I was inspired by kris trappeniers, kris is my favourite artist and I love the delicate stencils and drawings she created using line, for this piece I decided to contrast use of line an expressive linear drawing built up using shapes that create death and contour to the face to a cross hatched technique inspired by old masters of art. (6)

[elektracassady-blog]

Lunch Date | Whitney&Elektra

Celia Cassidy and Elektra Cassidy could not have been more different appearance-wise if they tried. Where Celia’s eyes were a deep shade of blue that sometimes seemed almost purple, Elektra’s were a strange green colour, where her mother’s hair was neatly arranged in a bun, a glistening shade of gold, Elektra’s curls were pitch-black and scattered across her shoulders, where the older woman was draped in the pastel beige coulours of her Chanel, Elektra wore business dresses and outfits that had just enough colour in it to appear charming and youthful without losing their elegance. And yet, the mother and daughter were similar in every other aspect, a byproduct of years Elektra spent emulating her mother, trying to live up to the standards the woman had set for her ever since she was adopted to the family - standards of kindness and compassion and that moral compass of hers that never seemed to be wrong. 

Saturdays were traditionally spent together, taking a stroll down the 5th, visiting stores, having a few hour long coffee sessions where the two women seemed to never run out of topics to discuss and explore - latest articles her mother was involved with writing, charity events she organised, philosophy, literature, fond memories of dad - you name it. Elektra knew, without doubt, that if someone wanted to come up with a perfect mother, Celia would still be a better mom than that. This was why as they stood in front of the charming little cafe on the UES they had just had coffee in, Elektra pulled her mother into a tight hug, and planted a kiss on her cheek before her eyes landed on the familiar figure of Whitney, approaching them. Elektra had told her to meet them at this address, in front of this cafe at 1pm when Celia would be going for a lunch with her girlfriends and Elektra wouldn’t have to worry about her mother being alone. They hadn’t seen each other since that cold day before Christmas when Whitney was upset and came to the practice for help - only now Elektra hoped the girl was feeling better, and that there’d be only good news to tell during their lunch. “Whitney!”, she exclaimed, letting go of her mother’s arm to approach the slighter girl and pull her into an embrace, “I want you meet my mom. This is Celia Cassidy.”, the older woman, standing patiently behind her daughter with a wide smile on her lips, now reached out to shake Whitney’s hand as Elektra continued, “Mom, this is Whitney Diamond.” Watching her mother place a hand over Whitney’s, tell her something about how glad she was to meet her, Elektra’s train of thoughts was interrupted by something darker - a bittersweet realisation that it was a good thing her mother was unaware of the gang’s involvement in her husband’s death. Elektra had strove to keep her mother blissfully ignorant of the fact - they took away her son, turned him into something he wasn’t, she didn’t have to know dad died at their hands too. When she spoke again, she trained her voice into a calm unassuming cadence, not to let those traces of sudden, uninvited sadness show on her smiling features.  “Mom, I’ll come pick you up after we’re done with lunch, just text me the address.”, Elektra leaned forward to plant a kiss on her mother’s cheek and watched her head for the sleek black town car that awaited her by the curb. It was only once the driver closed the door that El finally turned around to face Whitney, “She likes you, you know. Mom’s eerily good at judging character, and I’m sure I’ll hear all about how pretty and kind you look when I drive her home. She’s an amazing woman, not just because she’s my mother. Technically, my adoptive mother - but she never treated me any different than Julian.”, there was a flash of something sentimental across her features, a sort of softness that came with good memories and fond thoughts, and she found she had only those when it came to Celia. Her mother, the woman that saved her life, the lady in white that stood out in the dark reality of Elektra’s world before she was taken away from that camp. Finding that her thoughts had started straying again, Elektra readjusted the bag strap on her shoulder and looked somewhere behind Whitney, down the street, with her eyebrows pulled slightly together, as if she might magically spot a restaurant they could visit, “Uh, I didn’t have any specific plan as to where we’d go eat - wanted to leave you room to decide.”, she looked at Whit again, “What are you feeling like? Italian? Chinese? French? I’ve been awake since 5am and at this point I’m so hungry I’ll eat whatever you give me.”, a smile graced her lips again as she reached out to readjust a lock of Whitney’s hair, “Love your necklace by the way. You’ll have to tell me where you got it. And also everything that happened in the last month - you seem... happier. Am I wrong?”

@littlestdiamond