Bridge of Wings - The Herder

Bridge of Wings - The Herder
Size: 13x16 inches
Medium: Watercolors
Prints and original available -here-
Detail closeup views -here-
Matching pair to The Weaver, viewable -here-
Pencil sketch viewable -here-

There is a legend of lovers: it is said that the stars Altair and Vega in the summer night sky are the celestial glimmers of the Weaver Girl and Herder Boy. The Milky Way spills in a glistening river, sprawling across the heavens, and forever keeping the lovers apart, except for once a year when all the magpies of the world would fly up and form a bridge of wings that the Herder Boy and Weaver Girl might briefly touch, before spinning back to their corners of the sky. This is one of the reasons why magpies are considered auspicious birds and bringers of good fortune.

Wondercon 2011, San Francisco Moscone Center

Turns out I will be at WonderCon this year after all. Initially, I had sent in the paperwork too late, and was on the waiting list, but I got confirmation last month that I will be having a spot after all. Look for me in the artist alley! The booth will be listed in the program book as "Shadowscapes - Stephanie Pui-Mun Law".

As always, if there are any prints/books/items/originals in particular you want me to bring, don't be shy about leaving me a note or emailing to request. I usually only bring a small portion of my inventory, and so if you're looking for something specific, best to let me know ahead of time!

Wondercon
April 1-3
Moscone Center South, San Francisco, CA
Artist alley booth #AA-122

Bridge of Wings - Herder - sketch

Sketch for the next piece, to match The Weaver

Keyword Sketch Cards & Some New (& Old) Etsy Originals

A few newly listed pieces on etsy. Left two are new ones. The mermaid was what I did as a demo at an art expo in Pasadena years ago. She had gotten lost in my drawers and I came across her last week. These, and other little originals can be found -at my etsy shop-.

This week's keyword sketch cards:

left->right: dragon, angel, muse, healing, dichotomy

left->right: will, apparition

Bridge of Wings - The Weaver

Bridge of Wings - The Weaver

Size: 12.6x16.3 inches
Medium: Watercolors
Prints and original available -here-
Detail closeup views -here-
Sketch -here-

There is a legend of lovers: it is said that the stars Altair and Vega in the summer night sky are the celestial glimmers of the Weaver Girl and Herder Boy. The Milky Way spills in a glistening river, sprawling across the heavens, and forever keeping the lovers apart, except for once a year when all the magpies of the world would fly up and form a bridge of wings that the Herder Boy and Weaver Girl might briefly touch, before spinning back to their corners of the sky. This is one of the reasons why magpies are considered auspicious birds and bringers of good fortune.

White Nine Tailed Fox

White Nine Tailed Fox
medium: watercolors on illustration board
size: 14.6 x 4.4 inches
detail closeups -here-
prints and originals -here-

I got sidetracked from the other sketch I had prepared. I've been reading the Shan Hai Jing, a very ancient Chinese mythical bestiary, detailing all manner of fantastical gods, places, peoples, plants, and animals to be found under heaven. I had often come across references to it in other readings (The story of Nuwa and her transformation into the jing wei bird, for which I also recently did a painting, finds one of its earliest mentions in the Shan Hai Jing), and figured it was time to get down to the actual book itself.

I came to the early entry of the nine-tailed fox. This creature resides upon the Green Hills Mountain, amid the jade and cinnabar, and is a fierce man-eating beast. The commentary also mentioned a story of Yu the Great (the founder and progenitor of the legendary Xia Dynasty, China's supposed first dynasty over 4000 years ago). Yu sought an omen that he would marry, and as he rode through the hills, he caught sight of a white nine-tailed fox. This was the sign that he had been searching for, and he took it to mean success. Nine tailed foxes were thought to be auspicious creatures.