The Bee Nymph of Parnassus

A process post about the creation of my painting "Thriae"

"There are some Fates sisters born,
maidens three of them adorned with swift wings.
Their heads are sprinkled with barley meal,
wind they make their homes under the cliffs of Parnassus.
They taught divination far off from me, the art I used to practice
round my cattle while still a boy."
                                              - Homeric Hymn to Hermes

Thriae, Oil on Linen with Gold and Silver Gilding

The Thriae were nymphs (Bee larva are also called nymphs), three virginal sisters, in Greek mythology, who were able to see the future and interpret the signs of nature and omens. Their names were Melaina, Kleodora, and Daphnis. 

The bee has always been a symbol of the divine feminine, and as a certified beekeeper in the state of NC, I have alway been fascinated with them. Their history and archetypal symbolism pervades history. 
I won't go too deep into that history because it could take multiple posts, but I will tell you what the bee means to me. 
For me the bee is a symbol of values. It is a reminder of the virtues of feminine nature that are often forgotten and lost in today's culture that is washed over with the message that pure masculinity should be idolized.  They are also a "canary in a coal mine" for our modern world. Bees are dying by the the millions everyday we have forgotten our natural role in the world, and how to live within nature instead of trying to control her. The bee is also a symbol of intuition for me. Something that I always try to be conscious of, especially when painting. There are many subtle nuanced things that I associate with this wonderful creature, but those are just some of the main ones.
I highly recommend that everyone spend some time researching the historical symbolism of the bee as well as the current crisis of their vanishing numbers in the world today. It's time to return to a balance. A respect and honoring of both the feminine and the masculine is necessary for the future of our world.
A great three part site is this one if you're interested in the history side of things http://andrewgough.co.uk/bee1_1.html

But enough of that! So here's the piecemeal process that I went through while creating this painting.


     “And not of every water do the Melissae carry to Deo, but of the trickling stream that springs from a holy fountain, pure and undefiled, the very crown of waters.”                                                                                - Callimachus, from his Hymn to Apollo

So I started this out on composite leaf. (a mixture of copper and zinc that imitates gold) I wasn't about to waste all of that money by putting down real gold leaf if I ended up not liking it. It's a good thing I did this, because I tend to "feel" my way through paintings. Instead of having everything planned out ahead of time I tend to zig zag my way through a process until I feel like the right emotion was achieved. 

Here's where I decided that I didn't like the gold. Silver was the right way to go!  I'm also starting to feel out what sort of pattern I would like to see in the background. This is also the point where I went through a fiasco of trying to get silver and gold leaf mailed to me. A two day shipment turned into three weeks of hell trying to deal with the company and the USPS, which ended in my not having any leaf at all. I do not recommend goldenleafproducts.com
I ended up purchasing locally from Binders. The price was higher, but it involved less hassle.    And I like the folks over there. 

So while I'm going through this leaf trouble. I go ahead and paint the background to a relative value of what the silver leaf will be so that I can see my color relations better. I have also progressed some on her figure. I have decided to paint the lace of her dress in a thick, chunky, and loose impasto. I'm not too concerned with detail. Just with obtaining the "feeling" of lace. 

We skip forward a bit, because I didn't take more pictures. Sorry. I now have my leaf! I've put down the silver leaf for the background and I've started to stencil in the motifs surrounding her. I use a stencil because it's faster than painting those damn things the slow way. The black that I have used here is actually a mix of Transparent Oxide Red and French Ultramarine Blue. I used to use Burnt Sienna but I've found that the depth that transparent oxide red achieves is far superior. I actually hardly ever put black out on my palette. This mixture when mixed with white also makes a fantastic grey that can be easily made cooler or warmer. I typically use this grey for my underpaintings. 

The white line in the picture is actually tape that will define the gold accents that I will soon put down. I have to take most of the tack off the tape by pressing it to my pants a couple times before placing it down, because it will otherwise pull up the leaf beneath it. And then I have to go and fix all those damn holidays. (holidays are the missed parts or mess ups)

GOLD! So I put some gold in. Wrapping her arms like vines or ferns.

And here are some detail shots and the final piece! I will probably go back into this painting and nitpick some things, but for now she is done! I hope that you have enjoyed the journey as much as I have! 

I took out the gold in the upper corners because I felt that it made the painting feel too heavy.