Tales from the Mythical Muse: The Autumnal Enchantment...

"November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.."
~ Elizabeth Coatsworth

This entry was entirely inspired by "Picturing Autumn", a post by Irene Gallo, art director at Tor, and a real champion of the fantastical in the arts. Her contributions to the field are difficult to convey, but remarkably important. One of my personal favorites is her "Picturing" series of blog posts for Tor. Finding a subject of common spark, she seeks out the creative artists that draw from it. Then, not only do we see some of their output of imagery, we see their influences and picks from the community of the arts, past and present.

Quoting her Autumn post, because she says it best:

"It’s the first day of fall...and the last of these “odes to the season.” It seems fitting to end in Autumn. As with Picturing Winter, Spring, and Summer, I have asked a few of my artist friends to share with us some of their favorite paintings that depict the Fall. It’s a complicated and beautiful season—mixing a desperate need to soak in the last bits of sunlight, an ostentatious display of color, and the warmth of the coming holidays with a sense of loss and decay, foreboding...and magic. The spirits come out in fall and we transition from being outdoor people into an introspective, interior mindset. So, without further ado, below you will find nearly one hundred images of autumn that are joyous, colorful, and dark."

So to begin with, go to "Picturing Autumn", and look over the remarkable images she pulled together in honor of the Autumnal Equinox in September of 2012. It is very long, filled with wonderful art, and beauty. Take your time. Then, come back and see my contributions. It isn't that I felt these were excluded. The act of making such offerings isn't such that you are trying to be all inclusive. Like a view of crimson leafed glory out the window, it is only a brief frame in time, and I was moved to offer my own glimpse from here.

Artists of all types, living where the seasons change and the landscape is coated in the exuberant splendor of the leaf fall, know how deeply the colors can influence and invoke their creativity. For us, it is a sense of kinship at times, as if the nature has decided to honor our craft, and offer up a showcase. A mirrored palette that is reflects our inner spirit. The mentor and master teacher of all art, that is the natural world says to us, "This is how it's done..."

The fantasy, mythic, and illustrator arts community often finds some of the deepest mysteries of trade here. Fairy Tales and imaginations seem best, when you are between times, in the land of Janus, a portal place, and Autumn is often just so.

Firstly, I have to bring up one of my favorites from Irene's post. It is, quite literally, cast in the guise of where my personal journey of art began, that of Middle Earth.

I could hardly pick a more iconic image and one of deeper influence for me, than this of "Rivendell" in the Autumn, by Alan Lee, famed illustrator of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and one of the primary concept artists for Peter Jackson's films of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

"All that gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost.
The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.."
~J.R.R. Tolkien

For all those wrapped in the mantle of leaves that is the Fantasy Arts, Tolkien's work of grand adventure begins in the Autumn of Middle Earth. The themes of transition and quiet sorrow wrapped with revery and memory that is such a part of the season, is prominent throughout the books as well. Many fantasy fans begin their journeys of life in the Autumn of the books, and continue that "Road going ever on" for a life time. So, here are a few more, from the good professor's mythos, that offer some golden light.

"Goldberry" by the Brothers Hildebrandt. She simply radiates the light.

The most important Goldenwood of Tolkien's world is that of Lothlorien and here is the genius of Ted Nasmith illustrating that perfectly.

Professor Tolkien himself was skilled with pen and brush, and certainly the palette of Autumn's splendor was his favorite.

"Green Man becomes grown man in flames of the oak
As it's crown forms his mask and it's leafage his features;
'I speak through the oak, 'says the Green Man
'I speak though the oak, 'say he."
~ Green Man, by William Anderson

As you may have noted if you are familiar with our art, we owe a deep tithe to Autumn and its inspiration. It is a resonant bell that rings throughout our work all year long. So often, just when we feel that our well for new expressions of the Green Men is tapped, up springs those glorious colors, and once again, we find our way. Often, we discover that the path into the wood is via another artist's art. So I was pleased to see the following piece in Irene's post.

"The Corn King" by Charles Vess is a marvelous invocation to the season. Charles says that the landscape is the views from his home in the Appalachian Mountains of southern Virginia, and the plants of the King, are those that are growing on the hillside.

We are pleased to be both fans of Charles' work, as well as friends, so when the Corn King was chosen to be the image for FaerieCon 2009 promotions, we contacted him about creating it in our art form of 3D leather mask sculpture. We had often been asked over the years, if his image was created from one of our pieces, but no, it was derived, as was style, independently. This is an excellent example what I call, artists "dipping from a common well". So to finally craft a mask, directly from one of Charle's images, was to good to pass up. Here is our Corn King Mask, resplendent in Autumn's scarlet leaves. The Monarch butterfly is a real life addition. Exhausted from her southern migration, this female butterfly alighted on the bushes as we were photographing.

Sometimes the path runs from our art to others. Recently, we were very pleased to have one of our advertising photos, featuring one of our masks, to be used as the basis for this painting, entitled "Autumn Queen" by the wildly talented Brigid Ashwood.

Another one of my favorite Autumnal artists is Ruth Sanderson. A large volume of her work is filled with seasonal reds, golds, yellows and ruddy browns, so choosing is difficult, however two stand out. Here, is "Autumn Fairy", which is a pure celebration of the theme.

Her "Heart of the World" is a triumph in the uses of scarlet leaves.

Perhaps just one more from Ruth, unsuprisingly, as her studio is even named, "Goldenwood". I was told by Charles Vess, that if I liked Green Men, I had to see her work, and it is, certainly some magnificent expressions of the foliate face in art. Here is one.

The is the soothing hues of Renae Taylor. This piece has hung in our home for many years and is well loved.

As long as I am sharing amazing goddesses in coppery tones, I could do no better than the work of one of the truly greats in illustration today, Kinuko Craft. Here is her iconic "Sleeping Beauty" and we are delighted to be seeing Kinuko again, as well as several other artists here, at the upcoming FaerieCon 2012 in just a few days. The event is entirely under the eaves of a most mysterious wood.

Perhaps the term "low hanging fruit" is a bit too metaphorical for an Autumn post, but I am not afraid to share one. Alphonsa Mucha's influence into generations of illustrators and artists goes without question, and I would be remiss if I didn't share one of his Autumn Beauties.

In the entire circle of the year there are no days so delightful as those of a fine October, when the trees are bare to the mild heavens, and the red leaves bestrew the road, and you can feel the breath of winter, morning and evening...no days so calm, so tenderly solemn, and with such a reverent meekness in the air. ~ Alexander Smith

Another favorite also has a personal connection. We are occasional contributing editors with the lovely Faerie Magazine. This means we get the pleasure of sometimes seeing art before it is widely seen. I remember well when the following piece for the cover, came across my email and I had to just take a moment, and sit with it, admiring it. An original oil painting by Scott Grimando, "Crushed Autumn".

It would be impossible for me to pick a favorite piece in these themes, but the following one by David Wyatt is certainly one that calls to me. Indeed, much of his work is that which I could spend hours with. This one offers some similar time to reflect. How to spend a brisk Autumn morning, lost in "The Word Wood", a portrait of artist Terri Windling, who this writer, and our studio, are indebted to, for being a wayfinder in the mythic wood.

Terri herself knows the ways of the woods of Autumn, and they come up many times in her own art.

Many other mask makers have found there calling in the Autumn woods, and when they combine that with photography, you find imagery like this one from Eyefeather.

Certainly the sacred feminine side is well represented, so let's add in some strong masculine Green Men. Here is a work by fellow mask maker and friend, Larry Wood, of Fantasy Guilde Studios.

I am still trying to discover the artist behind the following image, for the Runelords series, but it is wonderfully Autumnal, spooky, powerfully male, and striking. I would love to create it in leather and mixed media.

One of the best things about doing posts like this, is I get to discover new artists, or those whose work I had seen in my youth, but wasn't familiar with. Judson Huss is just such one, and this brooding tree face offers some of the quiet threat that the season holds.

Perhaps another scarlet tressed beauty is in order. Here is one I discovered, by Jennifer Emmett Weyland, and entitled "Autumn Queen". I can't find anything else about her, and I adore her work.

I will bring us back into the land of the Autumn Queens with this fine graphic piece by Cristina Mcallister of Gypsy Mystery Arts, who I found online and love everything she does. Wonderfully fun, and free spirited work.

So I really could go on and on with this theme, much like we have said before how marvelous it would be to follow Autumn around the world for a year, living in constant glory, and neverending melancholy. Wonders would be as endless as the leaves. Even researching this post has lead me to discover images that I am left as breathless as a November wind. Take this one, by Samantha Johnson. Found through DeviantArt.

However, like the season signifies, all things are brief and fleeting and must end. So, I will wrap up with a few pieces out of our own studio.

Here is a drawing I did while spending a Thanksgiving Day separated from my family. I needed to celebrate, and I did so on paper. Pumpkins, Green Men, Cornucopias, Sunflowers, Fallen Leaves. These are a few of my favorite things.

Constantly we are in the process of bringing some aspect of the Autumn to life in sculpted and painted leather. No matter where on the Wheel of the Year the view from the window shows, often on our work bench it is an October afternoon, and the light is on the leaves.

When the symphony of the trees reaches it's peak, we are amongst them as often as possible gathering leaves, admiring the forms, and capturing fleeting colors in photography. We try to learn how to capture them with our paintbrushes, and always seem to come up a bit short. Each year there are certain trees, on certain afternoons, that compel us to stop, and just look at them for a while. We feel the need to soak up the color, like a thirst, we drink a deep rich font of love for light that is impossible to convey.

Here is myself, wearing one of our a variations on our "Wood King Green Man", and there, rapturously luminous, is the maple that called us to give it due reverence. It is a companion to the photo of my lovely wife and partner in art, Leah, at the beginning here.