#lynette most relatable sibling (real)

[jar-of-maise]

on my way to write a heroes x villain au even though my coffee is unfinished, my work about to swallow me alive and my math exam in two days

[fictionkinfessions]

For canon deets:

Arlecchino: First off they were Non-Binary. Father was far more gentle with Lynette and I than one would expect. They had a penchant for choosing favorites- In every little thing they could- They even had favorite dishes within each Hearth. They truly were an actual parent for Lynette and I, of course through legal adoption, but in behavior as well. For the other members of the hearth Father, while addressed as a parent, was far more like a teacher or boss. Father was typically hard to read, and rarely had much tone within their voice, but they loved to tease me about many things- Especially my love life, just as any parent would. Father also loved to participate in my magic act. The others thought they were just humoring me, but they would genuinely be excited to participate. I think it was mostly because they loved to bewilder the others, rather than a love of the tricks. But it was fun every single time. They were highly protective, and even went to speak to Wriothesley about our relationship before I could even say no. Lynette would always patch them up after battle while they were in fontaine, and despite their demeanor, they would always twitch when certain injuries were touched. We never mentioned it, but it reminded us they could indeed feel pain.

Fontaine hearth: While the hearth used family terms, we typically didnt see eachother as family. There would be groups of claimed family among us all, the small group still living in the fontaine hearth is an example. For my timeline the only ones living in the hearth building were Lynette and I, Freminet, and 5 of the girls who Father saved alongside Lynette. Of course Lynette and the other girls all grew very close, I was dragged in with them, and not a single one of us was going to make Freminet feel excluded. So we were all siblings.

Freminet specifically: He never cried for real. He was incapable of it, no matter how awful he felt. However he could fake cry on command. The most mischivious thing he would ever do is use it to manipulate our siblings into doing something. Get us to cave because he was one of the youngest, then immediately stop and smile and thank us. Worked every time =m="

Wriothesley: The cowlicks in his hair always caused people to think he had atavism. He told me he tried to tame them down when he was younger, but they'd always come back so he gave up. He eventually just grew used to people thinking he was an actual wolf, and when Sigewinne joined meropides staff she got him to dress up as one for any costume related holiday (she even made some up but dont tell him that, he looked adorable. (Neuvillette and I both were in on it- for different reasons- I wanting to see Wrio dressed up, and he wanting to see his daughter happy)). Wriothesley was extremely empathetic, and even after only hearing Lynette and I "talk robot" a few times, he tried to mimic it when I once shut down while visiting him. He was terrible at it, but I loved that he tried in the first place.

Aether: He was obsessed with fighting and the outdoors. He loved finding big monsters to fight and to scavange parts and pieces that would fall off of them. The institute loved him because he'd be down to test copellia and copellius whenever they needed. He gifted Lynette, Freminet, and I all what in game are our boss drops. When he found the giant crabs cave and brought back the shell piece for me, he immediately dragged me out of the city to go see it because it fucking ruled. Boys will be Boys and Boys Love Giant Pyro Crabs. Even though he had the teapot he much prefered camping, much to Paimons dismay. He also seemed to be a dirt magnet, even fresh out of a shower he seemed to still somehow have dirt on his face. My crush on him was very short lived but I can at least say he was one of my closest friends, and it did become a fun bit between us to flirt as a joke.

Finally Lynette: She didn't stand behind me because she was shy, it was because as children after our foster parent had my ears and tail removed, she became my new balance for a while. While as adults the issue was long solved, the habit remained. She was often scared that one day we would grow apart, and that often manifested as being upset that I was dating. I eventually got her to understand that my dating wouldnt seperate us- By setting her up on a few dates of her own. (Thank you for agreeing Charlotte) She wasn't great with money, often spending her weekly allowance all on snacks within a day or two, then begging me for mine- Her and Paimon were very similar in that aspect. All the cats of the hearth would slowly follow her around the building. She would sit down and the cats would all trickle into the room. Except for my dear Rosselind of course, she typically followed me.

haaah Sorry these ask game submissions ended up being rather long-

~Lyney 🕯♟

x

[eleedsfineartblog]

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: Fly In League With The Night

Before the second lockdown in the UK began, I was lucky enough to get to see Lynette Yiadom-Boakye's amazing exhibition at the Tate Britain titled Fly In League With The Night. It was such a good experience to get out and enjoy art in person, for as enjoyable as online exhibitions are, it's just not the same. You're unable to be in the presence of the art work, feel how a large canvas can engulf you or how a smaller piece can draw you closer in curiosity. To wonder around and be in the company of some captivating pieces of art work by a captivating artist was definitely a valuable experience and a great exhibition to close off such a turbulent year.

First, 2003 (left) and Black Allegiance To The Cunning, 2018. Oil paint on linen.

The first room was a fantastic introduction to her work and artistic development over the last twenty years, between receiving her undergraduate degree from Falmoth College of Art and her current work. Above are two examples of pieces (First, 2003, and Black Allegiance To The Cunning, 2018) I viewed in the first room that effectively show off this growth. Despite being a competent painting I felt that First was mediocre compared to her other works. Having had a look at her art online prior to the exhibition I knew the skill level she was painting at in the present so I was confused at why such an old and rough round the edges paining was included in the exhibition when she had evidently improved since this period of her art. However, I realised when looking at the pieces it was hung alongside that it gave the viewer a sense of her artistic journey and that there is a lot of value in placing an artists older, less polished work alongside pieces that are more recent.

Black Allegiance To The Cunning, 2018, was also displayed in this first room, which is a better representation of the place she is at artistically in the present. It’s muted colours, ambiguous environment, naturalistic pose and relatable figure are all features of a classic Yiadom-Boakye piece, which feels very different to the stiff and overall awkward pose that she has painted in First. Over time it is clear that she has developed her own style of loose brushwork and understanding of proportions that her more recent pieces have an ease to them that is not present in her earlier work. Seeing this development was useful to me as an art student for it shows that it’s unlikely that an artist comes out of education creating masterpieces and that improvement happens throughout an artist’s career.

Pale For The Rapture, 2016. Oil paint on linen.

Despite trying to capture realistic subject matter, the artist embraces the medium of painting to capture an energy that could not be achieved by simply taking a photograph. A notable connections between her work and impressionism can be made due to her use of loose, visible and expressive brush strokes. One of the things I noticed was how the texture of the paint varied across her canvases. I felt that this was particularly notable in Pale For The Rapture, 2016, a duo of paintings, both of resigned looking men sitting on patterned couches (an environmental detail that is rare in many of her paintings). Some areas, such as the shirts, were thick with impasto whereas other areas, such as the trousers and the wall behind the figures, were smooth and blended. Throughout her paintings, areas made up of light washes of paint were also apparent, the linen of the canvas visible through the paint - if there was any paint there at all. You can see that in Pale For The Rapture there are some patches of untouched canvas around the figure of the man on the left and also some on the floor, directly juxtaposed with areas that were built up with thick layers of paint. All of these textures in a single painting really give way to revealing the process of her making these paintings and for me as a person that wants to improve their painting skills, it is really useful to see how she constructs a painting with all these ways of applying paint for it gives me ideas that I can apply to my own work.

Wrist Action (2010) and Bound Over To Keep Faith (2012). Oil paint on canvas.

She describes her painting process as being quite eclectic, working from scrapbooks, found images, both drawing from life and from photographs. I think the range of sources she uses is what breathes the life into her paintings. Sometimes paintings that are straight copies of real life can be lacking in emotion due to the focus on the technical side of painting such as getting colours or details exactly right. Yiadom-Boakye is in no way the most realistic painter in the world, yet the realism in her paintings come from the fact that the figures feel so natural and in poses we would find in real life, which studying a wide range of reference points as she does undoubtedly helps her to achieve. range of reference points as she does undoubtedly helps her to achieve.

Amarathine, 2018. Oil paint on linen.

Yiadom-Boakye describes her work as "...composites, ciphers, riddles. Of the world but only partially concerned with it. Concerned with the part that gives them life, less bothered by the rest.” Each painting of hers contains a story, but a story that has had numerous chapters previously and many more to come outside of the composition. It is as if the people in her paintings are inhabiting private words that the artist is allowing us a peak into. They reflect on their private thoughts and have their private conversations while us, the viewers, are left to speculate on their lives. When spending time with the people in her paintings (most of them being life sized and a number of them being bigger) I found myself wondering about the relationships between the subjects of the paintings and in some cases I came to my own conclusions. I encountered mothers and daughters, forbidden lovers, groups of siblings, close childhood friends and a whole range of other relationships between characters that were both within the same painting and sometimes occupying separate canvases.

However, despite this distance between us and the subject, I felt that the sorrow was tangible in a number of paintings, as were the feelings of glee in some. Curiosity, fear, love, passion, anxiety were captured with such ease it felt like, crafted with careful attention to facial expressions and body language.

No Need Of Speech, 2018. Oil paint on linen.

It's apparent that despite the figures being portrayed in a more relatable way to the average 21st century viewer, compared to a Rembrant or a Vermeer, there is a peculiar but deliberate timelessness to them. I think a contributing factor to this is the ambiguous environment that she paints her subjects in, usually against a dark background which is reminiscent to the classic painters mentioned previously. The clothing of her subjects gives no allusion to a particular style, location or era and because of this reason she rarely paints shoes on her figures. This makes her paintings undefined by any historical context so that we focus on the expression and gesture of her figures.

I found this exhibition extremely inspiring and really reignited my passion for painting. I can safely say that although I’ve always had a passion for art, I have never been moved by an artists work like I did while spending time with Yiadom-Boakye’s paintings. There are certain experiences you can have with an artwork that can't really be explained in words, but I definitely felt a deep connection with her work. Being able to get up close to the paintings and see the varying textures of the paint on canvas really got me motivated to paint myself and so I have done a few studies of her paintings to learn from, which I’ll put in a separate post. 

Condor and The Mole, 2011. Oil paint on linen.