Art For You - Lily And The Lizard

" Lily And The Lizard "

Lily was made on  an A4 piece of archival paper with a smooth tooth. I prefer to use as smooth a surface as possible with graphite, to get the nice gradient and finish that softened graphite can achieve, while retaining some of the elements of quick pencil work - the strokes are quite visible in places, lending some of the feeling of an impromptu sketch. 

Her face came together very quickly - it was an effortless task to find the expression and feeling of a subtle temptress, while keeping that quality of innocent intention - Lily is symbolic of the "feminine wiles" that girls learn at a young age, to persuade, invite or otherwise seduce others to their way of thinking, so it was important to have that wide-eyed softness about her, which is also reflected in her stance and soft drapes, and the waves of her hair. 

The lizard is a reference to the "lizard brain", the component of human nature to act on natural desires and urges; in this case, a small idol to the feminine instinct to play on other's desires to achieve her own. He's small, relative to her, an intimate companion to the greater being, and in essence, a subtle and unnoticed power. 

Women of pleasure have long been associated with romantic imagery of natural forms - the flowers are garden-like, lending her the impression of also being a flower of beauty and fragility. And potential fertility. I often reference early ukiyo-e paintings from Japan for this technique - as the art of the Floating World (pleasure world), it has the sense of the eternal and ephemeral qualities that are so inherent to the conceptual art of sensuality and sexuality. It is a suggestion that gives the flavour of the erotic, the anticipation of what might be. 

As a drawing, the work comes with all the usual scratches and notes in the margin - all of which will be unseen after framing. When purchased, drawings from zeddess arts are delivered unframed, in an art archive folio, encased in tissue paper and a cellophane envelope. This allows the work to be held safely in storage until it is framed. 

" Lily And The Lizard " has been a  favourite of the collection for my online audience for many years, and the original work is still available for purchase, by the right collector.
She's been included in the latest ebook catalogue, which you can download, without signup or subscription, for free, on the Downloads page of this site. (see the Navigation bar under the title of the blog.) 

I hope to hear from her new owner soon. 
Love art, love life, 
Zian xxx