My October '12 Nibblefest Entry: "Titania and Bottom".....

"Titania and Bottom" (8 x 10), as inspired by Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'......

With a theme like 'Fantasy', how could I resist?  It had to be Shakespeare.  HAD to be (because anyone reading this who knows me, knows how MUCH I adore my literary influences....!).  And so I painted a tribute portrait inspired by what must surely be one of literature's most (in)famous and entertaining of odd couples, the lovely and proud Titania, Queen of the Fairies..., and Bottom, the hapless mortal wage-slave caught between the cross-fire of the magical forest folks' tricksy antics.

(Click for auction link)

I really enjoyed painting this one, once I got my act together and firmly decided exactly which direction I was going in.  And for once it's painted on a regular gallery-wrapped canvas (8 x 10) that I've been hoarding forever -- as opposed to my usual reclaimed wood or second hand frame finds (since I am still practicing my personal moratorium against purchasing unnecessary new art supplies)....

Love At First Sight.  Bottoms Up!

The following is my auction description:

My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC) (~the theme for October being 'Fantasy') is an original acrylic painting on an 8 x 10 gallery wrapped canvas, featuring a tribute portrait of the characters 'Titania' and 'Bottom' from the classic Shakespeare comedy, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream".  'Titania and Bottom' is signed on the front, with painted sides so it's ready to hang with no framing necessary.....

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"Captain of our fairy band,
Helena is here at hand,
And the youth, mistook by me,
Pleading for a lover's fee.
Shall we their fond pageant see?
Lord, what fools these mortals be!"

~As quoted by Puck, in Will Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

I adore the Bard and often find myself looking toward his works for inspiration, therefore I saw this month's theme as the perfect excuse to indulge my Shakespeare fetish.  His comedy, "A Midsummer Night's Dream", is for me ultimate Fantasy -- set in a mysterious woods at night, complete with fairy spirits and forest sprites, it is a hilarious tale of madcap mix-ups, miscalculations and mischievous mayhem.   One example is when the sweetly foolish character named "Bottom", a laborer from the nearby town, has the misfortune of having his head magically turned into that of a donkey's, thanks to the sprite, Puck, after Puck surreptitiously overhears Bottom pontificating pompously to a group of friends.  Another example is when the Fairy King, 'Oberon', seeking revenge after quarreling with his Queen, 'Titania', applies magical drops to her eyes while she sleeps, casting a spell on her.  The first living thing she is to lay her eyes on upon waking will become her romantic obsession.  And who it is that the proud and beautiful Fairy Queen's eye first spies...?  The hapless, donkey-headed "Bottom" but of course!   So now Titania has fallen hopelessly head-over-heels in love with the buffoon, Bottom, while much hilarity ensues....

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To see ALL the great 'Fantasy'-themed Nibblefest Art Contest entries this month
(and each starting at just .99 cents!),
click here....