It’s worked well Mathijs and is an intriguing image, though I doubt it’s a contender for the cover. With this I’m certainly back in the world of the tattooed Saint Kevin.
I’m looking at them again and I think that I like the composition best on the red head with the pollarded tree (your “fearsomely gaping maw.”) Lovely negative space. On the other hand, the green-and-red one is marvelous with the leaf-and-bark skin and mask-like quality (although I think the composition with the image sort of evenly divided on the two halves of the page is not as compelling as the “maw” image composition, I really like the mask effects you have there and elsewhere.) The beautiful tattoo-boy with the Clivean eyebrows is wonderful as well: so romantic, like a head on an ancient coin. If we don’t use the Vaughan foliate heads (which is fine—these are wonderful), maybe we can have our cake and eat it too with the head-head-head division pages—might even be fun to have little ones on the colophon or dedication page as well, ‘specially since there is such an appropriate name on the latter!
Well don’t make your mind up yet. There are three more on my desk!
The division pages could be made up from the cover rejects re-rendered as black and white images, if you would like that. And yes, decorations elsewhere would be fine too.
The titles you came up with for my forthcoming exhibition are slow-cooking in my head. I think that ‘Verdant’ is the front-runner at the moment, though it’s quite a soft and rounded word, whereas the work in the exhibition is going to be rather jazzy. I’m feeling all spiky and sharply-angled! Ho hum.
Well, there are more than a dozen, so if you especially like some, just write me a note and maybe I can do some more in the same vein…
Mike liked the Marvell idea, “A Green Thought in a Green Shade,” the very best (just asked, as he’s home for lunch!) But he liked “Verdant” second-best, though wondered if it should have another word with it. And thought the other suggestions with it were not surprising enough.
Shall go mull the list again. Was looking at Latin words for green–lots of them!
Also it occurred to me that there are heaps of Bible quotes about people being trees by water or trees in the house of God, so I could add some of those to the list.
I think that the Kevin aspect of the exhibition is going to be quite dark, continuing my exploration of the new version of the saint as seen in the most recent drawings, stigmatised with leaves, bulky, inward-looking and most significantly, birdless. The current foliate heads are dynamic and I think may develop into paintings that are energised and aggressively modernist. (A shift away from my obsession with the early medieval.) So I’m looking for a title that has punch and edge, and I don’t think I’ve found it yet. I love your suggestion ‘verdant’ as a word, but it’s yielding and bountiful on the lips, and I need something that’s more… oh I don’t know…. neurotic?
i saw “green woman” and just had to say that i just recently discovered that the black madonna is historically connected to the green man…statues of her are often discovered in out-of-the-way places, like in the midst of the woods, half-buried, and they refuse to be moved; they have a wildness and a darkness and an association with the woods …. anyway, fascinating to me, because she’s who’s linked to Erzulie, my ‘saint’ (lwa). all magical synchronicity!
I saw some beautiful Black Madonna figures when last in Barcelona. You’re right Zoe, they have a fantastic sense of the ancient about them. I’ve often though about a painting with a Black Madonna as the subject.
Erzulle! That a name new to me. I shall have to go and look her up!
i haven’t, because i hadn’t really known about black madonnas as a group, only the one from czestochowa that erzulie is linked with (although the copy i had seen was eastern orthodox, and not actually black, but she has scars on her face that became associated with african tribal scarring. the scars came from damage done to the original icon when robbers tried to steal it). i’ve posted some about erzulie, though. i just now started learning about the others and exploring the link between the green man and the black madonnas 🙂 i didn’t know anything about green women! so i will look!
I’ve found images of Green Women, though they are rare in comparison to Green Men. Images of ‘Wild Men’… a variation on the Green Man theme… show figures with dishevelled hair and bodies clad head-to-foot in leaves, and they too have female counterparts. (In the Jack-the-Green Festival at Hastings, the Jack parades with a guard-of-honour of wild-haired, green-clad Wild Men, and it was one of these who rather forcefully ‘bogied’ me the year I made the mask for the Jack. See HERE. Later Marly wrote a poem about my Green Man mask, and you can read that HERE.) I shall have to do some more research about Green Women.
Ummm… with difficulty! Ultimately the most important aspect is the ‘character’ of the image. The one that grabs the eye and holds it will be the one to go with, regardless of any detail. I still favour the red head and pollarded tree, though the green of yesterday’s offering is pretty lively!
Clive Hicks-Jenkins' Artlog: 
strong. intriguing. like it
It’s worked well Mathijs and is an intriguing image, though I doubt it’s a contender for the cover. With this I’m certainly back in the world of the tattooed Saint Kevin.
Clive,
The ditherer returns…
I’m looking at them again and I think that I like the composition best on the red head with the pollarded tree (your “fearsomely gaping maw.”) Lovely negative space. On the other hand, the green-and-red one is marvelous with the leaf-and-bark skin and mask-like quality (although I think the composition with the image sort of evenly divided on the two halves of the page is not as compelling as the “maw” image composition, I really like the mask effects you have there and elsewhere.) The beautiful tattoo-boy with the Clivean eyebrows is wonderful as well: so romantic, like a head on an ancient coin. If we don’t use the Vaughan foliate heads (which is fine—these are wonderful), maybe we can have our cake and eat it too with the head-head-head division pages—might even be fun to have little ones on the colophon or dedication page as well, ‘specially since there is such an appropriate name on the latter!
Green woman?
Shall now go ponder the naming of Green Shows!
Well don’t make your mind up yet. There are three more on my desk!
The division pages could be made up from the cover rejects re-rendered as black and white images, if you would like that. And yes, decorations elsewhere would be fine too.
The titles you came up with for my forthcoming exhibition are slow-cooking in my head. I think that ‘Verdant’ is the front-runner at the moment, though it’s quite a soft and rounded word, whereas the work in the exhibition is going to be rather jazzy. I’m feeling all spiky and sharply-angled! Ho hum.
Rebecca liked “Greening.”
Well, there are more than a dozen, so if you especially like some, just write me a note and maybe I can do some more in the same vein…
Mike liked the Marvell idea, “A Green Thought in a Green Shade,” the very best (just asked, as he’s home for lunch!) But he liked “Verdant” second-best, though wondered if it should have another word with it. And thought the other suggestions with it were not surprising enough.
Shall go mull the list again. Was looking at Latin words for green–lots of them!
Also it occurred to me that there are heaps of Bible quotes about people being trees by water or trees in the house of God, so I could add some of those to the list.
P. S. No fear of me making up my mind (too soon or otherwise.) Alas, it is not my way!
I think that the Kevin aspect of the exhibition is going to be quite dark, continuing my exploration of the new version of the saint as seen in the most recent drawings, stigmatised with leaves, bulky, inward-looking and most significantly, birdless. The current foliate heads are dynamic and I think may develop into paintings that are energised and aggressively modernist. (A shift away from my obsession with the early medieval.) So I’m looking for a title that has punch and edge, and I don’t think I’ve found it yet. I love your suggestion ‘verdant’ as a word, but it’s yielding and bountiful on the lips, and I need something that’s more… oh I don’t know…. neurotic?
how do you do it? you’re a fountain of the amazing 🙂
jazzy, spiky, sharply-angled…..
lovely 🙂
Agreed. This is fantastic!
i saw “green woman” and just had to say that i just recently discovered that the black madonna is historically connected to the green man…statues of her are often discovered in out-of-the-way places, like in the midst of the woods, half-buried, and they refuse to be moved; they have a wildness and a darkness and an association with the woods …. anyway, fascinating to me, because she’s who’s linked to Erzulie, my ‘saint’ (lwa). all magical synchronicity!
your book is going to be so beautiful, marly!
I saw some beautiful Black Madonna figures when last in Barcelona. You’re right Zoe, they have a fantastic sense of the ancient about them. I’ve often though about a painting with a Black Madonna as the subject.
Erzulle! That a name new to me. I shall have to go and look her up!
Zoe,
Yes, it will be beautiful! (And you have grand taste so I am sure will like it… Hurrah for fun collaboration!)
There are also some green women images that are early–just not as many as the men… Have you done a black madonna post?
i will love it 🙂
i can’t wait!
i haven’t, because i hadn’t really known about black madonnas as a group, only the one from czestochowa that erzulie is linked with (although the copy i had seen was eastern orthodox, and not actually black, but she has scars on her face that became associated with african tribal scarring. the scars came from damage done to the original icon when robbers tried to steal it). i’ve posted some about erzulie, though. i just now started learning about the others and exploring the link between the green man and the black madonnas 🙂 i didn’t know anything about green women! so i will look!
Zoe, Marly
I’ve found images of Green Women, though they are rare in comparison to Green Men. Images of ‘Wild Men’… a variation on the Green Man theme… show figures with dishevelled hair and bodies clad head-to-foot in leaves, and they too have female counterparts. (In the Jack-the-Green Festival at Hastings, the Jack parades with a guard-of-honour of wild-haired, green-clad Wild Men, and it was one of these who rather forcefully ‘bogied’ me the year I made the mask for the Jack. See HERE. Later Marly wrote a poem about my Green Man mask, and you can read that HERE.) I shall have to do some more research about Green Women.
I love it ! I think he looks like a god ( with sideburns) . Savagely beautiful- a perfect description .
i love this one!! how are you going to decide??
Ummm… with difficulty! Ultimately the most important aspect is the ‘character’ of the image. The one that grabs the eye and holds it will be the one to go with, regardless of any detail. I still favour the red head and pollarded tree, though the green of yesterday’s offering is pretty lively!
All this is bad for my indecisiveness in the most delicious way!
These posts are wonderful Clive. The imagery is savagely beautiful and fiercely bold. I love them all.
Well if one’s going to aim for beauty, one may as well aspire to the savage variety! (-;