Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A Happy Lughnasadh to All

Pictured is Lugh - The mythic founder of the feast of Lughnasadh, the ancient Celtic festival he established to commemorate the passing of his his foster mother, Tailtiu - the defeated Firbolg queen who is said to have brought the growing of grain to ancient Ireland by her labours in clearing it's dark forests -  is held around the first days of August. August 1 is tomorrow, hence this picture.

A word about it's creation:
A digitally-created work, one of  4  on the theme of Lammas/Lughnasadh created for an Artist trading card exchange. The other 3 may be seen by accessing my Gallery at the  ATCS for ALL site on the sidebar.


Lugh himself is actually an outdoor sculpture of the ancient fighter, Vercingetorix atop a pillar by the 19th century French sculptor Aime Millet...I coloured him digitally fo this ATC card , as I much admired his stolid and heroic pose... the long spear I added in, as it has been mentioned, along with the bag at his waist, as objects that always accompany him.
His giant horse is from a 1901 post-card and his hunting hound from Morgue File.
The stormy back-ground is my own photo from a field near Rocky Mountain house, here in Alberta , the stylized frame is in the public domain.