In a way, I've been working on RETURN FROM AVALON for years - and years. It's been in my mind that long, but I've only just put it down on paper. I love the stories of King Arthur, and in Tennyson's "Idylls of the King", just as Arthur is being placed in the barge that has been sent from Avalon, the magical island where he will be taken, he promises to come back when the world most needs him. I've been counting on that.
In my painting, I see him returning from Avalon as promised. With him are his wonderful white horse, his pale wolfhound, and his best friends, Merlin the Wizard, who is far too smart to stay locked in his crystal cave forever, and Sir Bedivere who was with him at the end and helped him into the magical barge. Together, they are bringing light back to the world and pushing back the darkness. But the dark forces will try to oppose them. Dark faeries and elves peer from the shadows and malevolent eyes glare from the dark.
Arthur is saddened by what the world has become, but Sir Bedivere merely sneers at the efforts to stop them and keeps his hand ready to draw his sword, and Merlyn is serene, knowing that light will always overcome the dark. Even now, the good faeries and elves are gathering to welcome them back as the dark fades away. In the background, you can see magical Avalon wrapping itself in mist, and in a few moments, it will vanish until next time.
I am very pleased with this painting - it is a huge step forward for me. I learned a lot with this one. I learned that if there is a mass of tiny things in the painting, it is better to keep the idividual details simple. And I learned how hard it is, but how very satisfying, to work almost entirely without reference. I didn't want the three riders to ressemble anyone at all except the way I saw them in my mind, so they were extremely hard to do. It was also a challenge to fade dark as the light advanced, but I'm satisfied with the result. And it was difficult to pull a painting of this complexity together. Although (as always) I see things I would like to improve, I love the way this turned out.
RETURN FROM AVALON is a 14 x 18 watercolor on Arches 300 hot press paper. It is available, but at this time, I have not settled on a price.
