Happy Yuletart, oteap!

[yuletart-mods.livejournal.com]

Title: A Cat May Look at a King
Gift for: oteap
Artist: chomiji
Rating: PG (in case someone is anxious about skeletons)
Fandom: Discworld
Warnings: nothing, really - it's mainly symbolic
Artist's Notes: mixed media (free-hand paper cutting in black rag writing paper and blue wrapping foil, over watercolor wash with salt sprinkled)
Summary: Death was definitely the oddest thing I've ever tried to cut out of a sheet of paper. Because I was including Greebo, I needed something to balance him, and one of Paul Kidby's illustrations suggested to me a kitten, whom I have given height to match Greebo's by perching on one of Death's iconic hourglasses.

Comments

[blienky27.livejournal.com]

This is fabulous. DEATH is always amazing, but with added Greebo? ♥_♥ Plus, I think you've drawn inspiration from one of my favorite Kidby illustrations, if I am not mistaken - the one where DEATH is pondering the problem of Schroedinger's cat, I believe. (http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070309183055/uncyclopedia/images/b/bc/Discworld_death.jpg)

Your recipient is very lucky. :D

DEATH & Cats

[chomiji]

Yes, you nailed my source all right - that is the picture! Thanks so much for the very kind comments.

[roga.livejournal.com]

Oh, that is so cool - such an awesome medium to work in, and I love the way it turned out. And Death's eyes :D

DEATH & Cats

[chomiji]

The foil eyes were a suggestion by my friend & sister smillaraaq, who knows the depth of my wrapping paper collection, upon seeing this as a WIP. Thanks so much for the kind words!

[oteap.livejournal.com]

DEATH AND GREEBO! I'VE GOT DEATH AND GREEBO!

*flails wildly*

dear Mystery Artist, you are seriously one of my favorite people right now.

this is amazing and so pretty and just perfect! I love Death's eyes and Greebo's tiny scar and ahhh! little kitty on a hourglass!
you made me so happy, I can't even thank you enough :DDD

memming and reccing so hard!

DEATH & Cats

[chomiji]

Aww, thanks! I am really pleased that you liked this: it was my first Yuletart and this is my most comfortable medium. I was really not sure how it would come out, in the end!

[beccastareyes]

I like to think the kitten is You*.

But that's pretty amazing out of paper.

* Dunno if you've read the Tiffany Aching books, but You is a white kitten that ends up living with Granny. And, despite the fact she is an adorable ball of fluff, she has mastered Granny's trick of intimidating Greebo.

DEATH & Cats

[chomiji]

Good gravy, I had forgotten all about You! (And I'm behind on the Tiffany books, so if she's done anything in the most recent book, I've not seen it yet.)

Thanks very much for the kinds words. I need to get back to working with the paper some more. I used to do piles of it for cards, mostly animals and birds, but some people too.

[turlough]

This is so COOL!!

DEATH & Cats

[chomiji]

Eeee, thanks!

[wellington.livejournal.com]

I love the hourglass most. The blue looks great. Lovely pic!

DEATH & Cats

[chomiji]

Heh, the hourglass! It's very unusual for me to do an inanimate object at all - that might be a first! Thanks very much for the kind words!

[chalcopyrite.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow! Your technique is amazing, and I love your style! All of the figures are really great: I love how the kitten and Greebo balance each other!

[chomiji]

Oh, thank you so much! I first started doing this decades ago, inspired by the woodcut-styled illustrations of Leo and Diane Dillon in the YA historical novels Haakon of Rogen's Saga and its sequel A Slave's Tale, by Erik Haugaard, and also in some of their SF covers in the 1960s and 1970s.

[leyna55.livejournal.com]

Very clever, and neither Greebo or Death would normally be called cute - but you've managed the feat!

DEATH & Cats

[chomiji]

Thanks so much for the kind words! (Actually, I find Death disturbingly cute sometimes ... .)

[glockgal.livejournal.com]

So cool!! I loooove how you did the paper cut-outs - they look like those shadow puppets plays, which is so totally fantastic! I want to watch in the hopes that they'll start to move! XD

DEATH & Cats

[chomiji]

Hee, yes, you're right - they do have some of the feel of the southeast Asian shadow puppets! I had not thought of that before - thanks very much!

[ieke85.livejournal.com]

This is so cool! You have epic paper-cutting skills, and your mixed media supplies are creative and fun to read.

DEATH & Cats

[chomiji]

Awww, thanks! I need to cut some more - I had almost lost track of this as a hobby. I used to do lots of animals, mostly.

[ani-bester.livejournal.com]

This was a brilliant use of materials and I love the look you created with it! Wow! My only regret is I can't see it live!

DEATH & Cats

[chomiji]

Oooh, thanks so much - what a nice compliment! I do have to say that sadly, I used the wrong type of board for backing, and it's warped upward - presumably because of the watercolor wash. Next time I do something like this, I will have to ask the art supplies shop people for other suggestions for the base medium.

[nakedbee.livejournal.com]

Pretty! I love the restrained use of color .. the background wash add a touch of magic and the shiny blue eyes are just perfect!

DEATH & Cats

[chomiji]

Thanks very much for the kind words! I have done this sort of work with brightly colored backgrounds as well - sometimes with little bits of colored tissue, which gives it a stained glass look - but that didn't seem quite right for Death. I found the salt technique in a very nice instructional video online and thought it might suit this subject. The blue foil eyes were suggested by my dear friend & sister smillaraaq, who saw this in progress.