Music Gives You Wings

Michal was a prince: the youngest prince. The one that never got anything except maybe a donkey. If he was lucky, that is. However, Michal never cared about those things. Politics was a bore, and he failed every last one of his lessons, whether they were academic, training, or etiquette. There was only one thing Michal was good at: playing the violin. Every day, at night, when all the other lords and the servants were asleep, he would get out of bed, take his beloved instrument, and play in the streets at night. His music was so beautiful that no robber dare touch him. They actually broke into tears as they heard the melancholy melody, promising to repent their ways. Many years later, Michal's two older brothers were killed in a war. Both his sisters were married off to other princes, and Michal became king. With his new duties, he was forced to abandon those moonlit seranades he found such joy in, and, although he was a good king, he died a bittersweet death. He asked that, at his reception, people should not dress up or offer condolances. They were to listen to his favorite song as his ashes and his beloved violin were laid into the ground. Now, they say, if you pass through the streets at night, you can hear the laugh of an angel, happily playing a merry melody on his violin and celebrating his freedom. <br />
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I worked on this picture for weeks. I did a first draft to get the proportions right, then I copied it onto 11x17" watercolor paper. The mounted peice is 16"x20" and it was major hell to scan (It took me three hours). Look! I did watercolor! It's the first time in two years. I've forgotten how fun it is. Especially folds and hair. I had to mask this peice about three or four times total. Background texture acheived through use of salt. The gold patterns are designed to looks like "f" holes in the violin. The peice written on the wings is hand-copied by me onto sketch paper (I drew the staff lines with a pen and a ruler, too) from my Suzuki Level 3 book. It's a peice by Bach. Actually, one and a half peices because I had the extra space. Well, there you have it. <br />
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Mixed media: Watercolor, Pencil, Ink, 3 kinds of paper <br />
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On a side note, I played for six years.