Christmas Lights

Oh my. I think I started this LAST Christmas, but I probably came up with the idea the summer before that. I'm not entirely sure. The point is, this has been sitting in my folder for a very long time. I started working on it again just before finals week this semester. All that I had done prior was the fire and Memoria's mane--so the picture really shows a couple of different styles/techniques (e.g. Memoria's mane vs. his tail). Then the picture got put on hold again when I was skiing in Quebec last week. I finished it over several hours of work yesterday and today.

I'm not entirely pleased with the sky, the trees, the snow, or the wings...It looks rushed and hurried to me. I guess I lost my patience with it a little toward the end, unfortunately. And sometime in the past couple of years, Prismacolor changed their colorless blender pencil. The new ones do not work nearly as well as the old ones, so I need to find a way to adjust to those since my old ones are now down to pretty much nothing. The trees were also an experiment that I played with as I went along. I started with the ones on the right, and you can probably see how I changed my technique as I went along. But I like birch trees--I just need to practice a little more.

So. Merry Christmas to Joana, Chrissy, and Dylan! Memoria, Nalani, The Wanderer, and Tweede Kans (turned pegasus) are keeping warm around a fire while the Star shines brightly above them. I love you all so much and wanted to draw something for all of you that represented, in a way, how all three of you have been there for me, supported me, and helped me by keeping my spirit warm no matter how much I may have been struggling. You are amazing young women and I wish I could tell you each in person how much you all mean to me.

And Happy Holidays to everyone! May you all be blessed with joy and love
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Image & The Wanderer copyright Ashley Mutek.
Memoria: =PolarisAstrum
Nalani: =cloudrunner64
Tweede Kans: ~Tweede-Kans
Prismacolor pencil on Bristol board.
December 25, 2011.