Hades and Persephone

Back in high school I spent many years at the public library in my spare time reading all I could about Greek Myth. It's my favorite region religion/mythology. My favorite story was definitely Hades and Persephone.

I wanted to incorporate some Art Nouveau into my style for an Illustration based on Greek Myth couples. This is the first in the series. I really studied Alphonse Mucha for this piece. If you really want to expand your knowledge and challenge yourself take on a different style or design. The big task on this was pulling back and being strategic about simplicity and embellishing.

I chose to think of each Greek God as a color (ie-if they were a color what color would they be). Hades takes on the ever surprising black to display not only mourning and loss but a somber disposition. Persephone, being the daughter of Demeter (Seasons) had to take on green to signify growth, life, and earth. I also added a tribal element to the designs giving each God a painted pattern on their skin. By choosing to go with the color theme it really restricts you to choose the right color combinations to make the piece work. It also tests your strength on how well you can place colors. I was happy to use my popular love of transparency painting (which seems to be a theme in all of my illustrations) within this piece. Also big hair is always my favorite thing to draw. Who doesn't love a great love scene. I know I do.