childrensillustrators.com - illustrator - John Aardema - artemis & acteon
childrensillustrators.com - illustrator - John Aardema - artemis & acteon
John Aardema
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illustration - artemis & acteon-This picture is a bit of an extrapolation of the Greek myth of Actaeon.

Artemis is the Greek name for the goddess the Romans later named Diana. Both were goddesses of the forests and also of hunting. When the tales came to Britain, Diana became Titania, and the goddess became the queen of the fairies.

In some alchemical texts (which are concerned with spiritual transformation), the soul of Actaeon is reborn in the numinous realm as Diana’s consort.

Purple represents blood, especially the blood of holy sacrifice—as does wine.

Since Diana was the goddess of the hunt, she was also identified with the moon, specifically when the moon becomes sliver-like and resembles a bow. She also has bows on her bonnet, but of a different kind. - Aardema, John
This picture is a bit of an extrapolation of the Greek myth of Actaeon. Artemis is the Greek name for the goddess the Romans later named Diana. Both were goddesses of the forests and also of hunting. When the tales came to Britain, Diana became Titania, and the goddess became the queen of the fairies. In some alchemical texts (which are concerned with spiritual transformation), the soul of Actaeon is reborn in the numinous realm as Diana’s consort. Purple represents blood, especially the blood of holy sacrifice—as does wine. Since Diana was the goddess of the hunt, she was also identified with the moon, specifically when the moon becomes sliver-like and resembles a bow. She also has bows on her bonnet, but of a different kind.
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Next four illustrations from John Aardema:
illustrator - portfolio - Aardema, John - pussageno-Of course, Papageno is the bird-catching character from Mozart's "The Magic Flute".  I must tell you that inspiration for this picture also came from Nick Cave's Soundsuits.

How many birds do you know?

A robin?
A black-capped chickadee?
A blue jay?
A red-headed woodpecker?
An owl?
A red-winged blackbird?
A parakeet?
A parrot?
A quail?
A grackle?
A cockatoo?
A toucan?
A sparrow?
A pheasant?
A cardinal?
A bluebird?
A kingfisher?
An oriole?
A purple finch?
A yellow finch?
A scarlet tanager?
A creeping nuthatch?
A ruby-throated hummingbird?

See, I bet you know a lot more than you thought you did!
illustrator - portfolio - Aardema, John - the wizard's chair-Happy Halloween! What happens when a girl wanders into the Wizard King’s haunted house, puts on his hat, and sits in his chair? I have no idea, but it doesn’t look like anyone in the house does either.

I’m not sure, but I think a story is starting to form. I was only making a painting for my October postcard, but it looks like I’ve got a children’s book along with it, to boot!
illustrator - portfolio - Aardema, John - claude claude the vampire moth-This is Claude Claude. He's the main character in my picture book dummy--Claude Claude, The Vampire Moth-- which won first place in the 2006 SmartWriters.com book dummy division! Yay, me!
illustrator - portfolio - Aardema, John - claude's class-This is Claude Claude's classroom. He's not there because he's skipping school. He must be celebrating the fact that I won first place in the 2006 SmartWriters.com book dummy division.
childrensillustrators.com - illustrator - John Aardema - artemis & acteon childrensillustrators.com - illustrator - John Aardema - artemis & acteon
childrensillustrators.com - illustrator - John Aardema - artemis & acteon
childrensillustrators.com - illustrator - John Aardema - artemis & acteon
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