Winged Antelope
Like many artists, I’m fascinated by mythical creatures. I remember as a child flipping through those spiral-bound books that combined the head of one animal, the body of another, and the tail and legs of a third. The crazy combinations that resulted delighted my imagination! Naturally, I wanted to create my own.
I never outgrew this sort of child’s play, and over the years have created various winged and tailed beings, including mermaids, satyrs, centaurs, and from the Bible, angels and seraphim. The visions of Ezekiel also blew my mind. And my last dog, when she passed away, grew white wings and gracefully lifted away from her body, with little white droplets shed from her wingtips as tears.
And then there are mythical birds, in which the wings are the only part that resembles anything real. The sky’s the limit when it comes to imaginary birds. The many migrating species that pass through the valley where I live provide plenty of inspiration. It’s hard to top nature’s design when it comes to woodpeckers and wild ducks.
Horned and antlered creatures also offer a world of potential, and show up in my art. This antelope has both horns and wings. I restricted my palette to just two colors, no doubt partly due to lack of time, but also to keep it flat and graphic. As usual, African art also has an influence here, as the sculptures and masks of that continent are often derived from ibex and other hoofed beasts.
The challenge with this sort of composition is to bring the different parts of the animal into visual harmony. Whimsical as it is, it’s still an exercise in proportion and design, which became an excellent assignment for my two homeschooling art students. Here is 12-year-old Maya’s cross between a chameleon and a goat, and 9-year-old Seiya’s “unicrow.” We also made use of colored outlines, stripes, and dots. What fun!
If ever you’re inspired to create a mythical creature of your own, feel free to share. I’d love to see it! A cat-headed eagle, or lion-headed bear? A sheepish camel, with a woolly hump? The possibilities are endless.
A good week to all!
D. Yael Bernhard
https://dyaelbernhard.com
Have you seen my other Substack, The Art of Health? In addition to being a visual artist, I’m also a certified integrative health & nutrition coach with a lifelong passion for natural food cooking and herbal medicine. Now in its second year, this illustrated newsletter explores cutting-edge concepts of nutrition. I strive to make relevant information clear and accessible, and to anchor essential health concepts in unique images. Check it out, and if you like it, please subscribe and help spread the word. Your support keeps my work going!