Oct 26, 2011

The Battle of Evermore




Oh dance in the dark of night,
Sing to the morning light.
The magic runes are writ in gold to bring the balance back.
Bring it back.
At last the sun is shining,
The clouds of blue roll by,
With flames from the dragon of darkness,
the sunlight blinds his eyes.
 


From: "The Battle of Evermore."
For guitar and mandolin; written by Robert Plant










When I was a teenager records cost $7.95.

They were so expensive we could only afford a record every few months - so we'd share them or tape them. We'd a small library of records going, and so it turned out that each member of our social group knew all the words to a small bunch of songs. This knowledge was a unifying factor, a kind of tribal subconsciousness.









Pink Floyd was up there. The Doors. Jethro Tull. Frank Zappa. And Led Zeppelin.

The Led Zeppelin IV cover is the genesis for my image - you might have seen it, with it's framed picture of a wood gatherer hanging poignantly on the wall of a half demolished house. (see small images below).









Downstairs in our library, amongst a gaggleous mountain of books, we have a large shelf of records crammed together so tightly that it's almost impossible to pry them apart. Looking for the album cover, I started at one end of the shelf, then worked my way toward the middle, prising and peeking. 

In a way it was a sad experience. While I was sorting through the records it struck me how so many of the people who had made them were dead. Obviously, for me to buy a record was the kiss of death for the artist. Literally.

Thank you for looking. And thank you to everyone who played the music while looking at my last post.

Oh, I forgot to say, the subject of this image is a wood gatherer, gathering 'fuel', which by strange coincidence just so happens to be Illustration Friday's prompt of the week - well I think it is ;)


























12 comments:

  1. Your attention to detail is incredible. The colors and scenery are just beautiful. Nice work.

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  2. Oh no! Am I responsible for the kiss of death for Jim Croce and John Denver? I still have a stack of albums too. Sometimes I just like to look at the art on them. You wood gatherer is beautifully done.

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  3. Oh I hate it when I type a novel of a comment and blogger decides to hiccup! Ugh. I shall gather my composure and try to comment again. Maybe it did not like my highly opinionated dissertation on today's musical scene.

    Your drawing is magnificent. You captured the heavy load aon his racked body.

    Ah I love Led Zeppellin - Kashmir, Yes! and Have you heard Robert Plant's song Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us sung by Allison Kraus? I like the melody, it reminds me of a funeral procession.

    As for today's musicians, I don't think very highly of them. Lots of hype and no substance, forgetful, unintelligent music.

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  4. Oh one more thing. I am so surprised at your musical history. I thought you were only around 29 or 30 something.

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  5. Beautifully done Andrew. Sorry for the short comment; I've been in class all day. My eyes are burning and my brain hurts. :)

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  6. 29 or 30? Oh no, you'll have to set her straight and tell her you are only 24.

    I only buy the music of dead artists. Strangely, a lot of it sounds like silence.

    Andrew, this is fantastic! I can feel the weight of his heavy bundle. And I love how you have surrounded him with mostly dry brush, and the only bits of fresh green are on his clothes. There's a great sense of depth to your image so that the frame seems more like a window, and I can just reach in and pick him up with my hands. I am going to ask you to design my album cover when I'm done recording it.

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  7. Beautiful beautiful image--with the trees and branches and grass so very very crisp--and sharp, a little bit dangerous somehow. I really like the light too, and how its mottled on his face. And the birds in the sky.

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  8. Yes. So many record albums... They are in the hall cabinet, pressed together, probably too tightly. It IS sad. ashes to ashes

    I know this album you reference. I like your take on the wood-gatherer.

    I haven't read the previous post yet so I didn't play the music. It is all so...

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  9. Un bel hommage... Une interprétation qui me plaît beaucoup... avec aussi un petit clin d'oeil aux feuilles de chêne et glands de notre amie Ces!
    Le bâton aux lignes tortueuses captive mon regard. Je vais guetter ton personnage en allant à la cueillette des champignons ce week-end prochain!
    Je crois en apercevoir dans un coin de ton oeuvre?!...
    Gros bisous

    Ps: Hier après-midi le soleil inondait l'atelier et c'était si bon... Après quelques heures de peintures je me suis accordée une belle promenade dans la campagne jusqu'à la tombée de la nuit, qui malheureusement arrive trop vite maintenant...

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  10. Oh, I LOVE the composition (the exert) of the first picture! Even better than the original Led Zeppelin :-) And I certainly don´t mind the flaky, rusty textures either, but you probably could guess that.
    Hope you´re fine& happy!

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  11. Hello Andrew,
    I wish I could be just relaxing . Too bad this week has been very difficult for me...my brother has a cold :/
    For healthy people is nothing but for someone in his condition it could be very dangerous. Doctors came here early in the morning so I hope he gets better with the medication.
    This is a cool post, love the illustration and the Led Zeppelin inspiration :)
    ...and the pics, the beatles are there, wanna say hi haha!!
    Unfortunately I can't read the post now but I'll come back later.

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Hya! Thank you so much for leaving a comment. I appreciate your time and thoughts.