let it snow queen.
inspired by hans christian andersen’s
“the snow queen.”
"let it snow queen."
faerie tale feet piece inspired by hans christian andersen's "the snow queen."
some of you may know the tale as disney interpreted it for the recent animated (understatement: hit!) “frozen.” it was originally a pretty episodic tale by our beloved hans christian andersen. various versions include an evil goblin flying through space who breaks a mirror which only reflects the worst in people. so when a shard lands in both the heart and the eye of kai, he gets carried away with his own meanness, runs away with the snow queen by hitching his stolen sled to her magical flying sleigh, and is about to freeze (inside and out) until gerda, through a LOT of brave & heroic & often distracting adventures, rescues her friend from the snow queen’s coldhearted grasp. spoiler: her tears of love melt the coldness in his heart and the deception in his eyes.
you should read it. i don’t do it justice.
seen in my original gouache (& ink for her snowflake tattoos!) painting are four creatures who help or hinder gerda along her path to rescue her best and dearest friend when she refuses to give up on him.
i tried something different than my usual patterned background iconography– i could have used: the mirror shards, the rose arch, a sled, a sleigh, icicles, gerda’s red shoes, a boat, magic comb, sunbonnet, owls, a wise old woman with grey braids, the troll, angels, a prince & princess, a throne in the middle of a lake, a muff, the snow queen’s fireworks, a magnifying glass, the talking flowers, and more.
but in the vastness of the tale are also the reindeer, the wolves, a raven, and a polar bear guard. they are both friends, foes, obstacles, and sages; gerda ultimately wins, for, as the wise woman said:
“i can give her nothing more powerful as that which she already has– a loving heart.”
have a look at the painting process below!
lots of fun sketching of arctic animals and snowflakes before beginning this piece…
and lots of potential shoes for our magnanimous and nefarious snow queen.
here’s the final drawing of animals that play a tale in the tale, shoes, and snowflakes ready to be transferred to illustration board.
painted the snowflakes, animals, and snow queen feet with resist so i could lay over streaks of wet gouache for the background in lots of cool hues.
once the background was dry, i removed the resist and painted in the animal silhouettes. (in real life they are beautiful– subtle fur and variations of midnight blues and deepest purples.)
shoes are almost done here… and i added shadows and details to the snowflakes for depth and variety.
i gave the snow queen some intricate snowflake tattoos on her legs just for fun. so tiny that i had to use a seem ripper to transfer them before tracing them with metallic ink for a finale.
the original painting is available framed for $450 (+ $40 for safe US shipping). contact me. gouache and ink painting is 11x11” on illustration board and framed in a soft black handmade wooden frame to 19” square.