'The Birth of Ophelia'

'The Birth of Ophelia'

60cm x 1200cm (24" x 48")

gesso, charcoal and pastel on board 

This last piece, which I am pleased to tell you is now complete... :) has been influenced by Sir John Everett Millais' 'Ophelia'. The painting by Millais depicts a scene from Shakespeare's Hamlet in which Ophelia's father is murdered by her lover Hamlet and as a result Ophelia drowns herself in a stream. My Ophelia on the other hand, is in the process of rebirth! She represents the feminine and creative aspects of water in the way that for aeons water has been equated with the feminine aspects of creation and nature. There is a common and recurring image in many cultures, that of the Goddess emerging from the water. So here, my Ophelia is emerging from the water only to be reborn as a Goddess..don't you just prefer happy endings!...:)