 GARLAND |
St George & DragonLink |
 Red Haired Girl |
GARLAND |
St George & DragonLink |
Red Haired Girl |
 Temple Columns |
Singer |
The source materials for most of these illustrations are snapshots taken over the years at the Renaissance Fair in Triune, Tennessee. The individuals, their costumes and their surroundings have been modified to fit a theme I wanted for each particular illustration. People in period costume make better subjects for historical illustration than models in jeans. There is a different style of movement for breech and hosen or fatheringale and gown, than for jeans and cuttoffs. This subtle differennce comes through in the final painted figures.
I have always enjoyed the idea of showing historical life on current day subjects. In school books the different painted styles across the ages never truly communicated the feel of the subjects, to my newspaper and TV addicted eyes. After seeing still shots of just about any activity, a stylized medieval engraving of the same action just doesn't stack up. I want to breath life into the old woodcuts, statues, and illuminations by giving the old actions a current look. I want today's young eyes to see history in a new light. If you don't learn from history you are doomed to repeat it's mistakes, or at the very least it's endless trial and error!
There are many historical reenactment societies across the US. There are also many webs sites devoted to just about any period in history. For a introduction of medieval reenactment the Society for Creative Anachronism is a fun place to start.
My love of historical costume led me into a interest in history and from there to historical architecture on to all types of historical designs.
The images above have either been done as commissions or sold from art exhibits. There are more historical images on our other website at www.lyneart.com/HISTORY.HTM
The St George image above is a link to a series of portraits done in icon style, for a private collector. They represent yet another way to educate today's overstimulated eyes that "something old can be new again."
