Mythstories Artist in Residence Dez Quarréll has just completed the central panel of his digital triptych telling the ancient Welsh story “The Dream of Rhonabwy” from the Mabinogion. It’s been a long process and we thought we ought to share it with you, as we guess the two outer panels may well take some time!
Dez says…”I probably should have known better than to even try to attempt to picture this tale but ever since I first told the tale it has fascinated me. It is set near my home and the pull of local tales is very strong somehow knowing the places where the stories took place gives you an urge to keep the tales alive by telling them whenever you get the opportunity. This tale is not an easy one to tell in fact it comes with a warning in its conclusion…
‘And this tale is called the Dream of Rhonabwy. And this is the reason that no one knows the dream without a book, neither bard nor gifted seer; because of the various colours that were upon the horses, and the many wondrous colours of the arms and of panoply, and of the precious scarfs, and of the virtue-bearing stones.’ from the 1877 English translation by Lady Charlotte Guest.
For an English speaker it has many difficult names both to pronounce and remember and the dream sequence is quite complex and difficult to decipher. So as a storyteller I had to resort to finger painting on my i-pad to fix the chronology in my head, and I’d share my pictures with audiences when I told the story. I’m sure many purists wouldn’t approve, but it’s the only way I had a hope of remembering all the characters names and the ancient Welsh version of chess, gwyddbwyll.
Looking back I think as soon as I started to put images to the story I had made the decision to paint the tale. I say paint the tale because I don’t consider myself an illustrator. To me illustrations are adjuncts to written words. Oral, spoken word storytelling can be accompanied by pictures, in fact most storytellers remember stories in pictures in their imaginations, that way they have the freedom to shape the stories to words that fit their audience, they do not recite a text.
My pictures aren’t great respecters of the rules of perspective, I usually start planning canvases by drawing a spiral in the Islamic fashion and then place my composition on the curves. I still employ the same practice planning the digital drawings I produce. In the central panel of the triptych above the spiral intends to draw the viewer’s attention in to Arthur’s Garnet Ring and then the crumbled remains of the red playing piece on the game table; two crucial points in the story.
Also from the Islamic tradition of Mughal Court Art Miniature Painting I also ignore perspective, sizing characters by their importance. This was the ideal medium to employ for this drawing as the Dream of Rhonabwy is a story where size is all important. Just see the quote below…
‘Then came Iddawc and they that were with him, (Rhonabwy and his two comrades who had been transported back through time) and stood before Arthur and saluted him. “Heaven grant thee good,” said Arthur. “And where, Iddawc, didst thou find these little men?” “I found them, lord, up yonder on the road.” Then the Emperor (Arthur) smiled. “Lord,” said Iddawc, “wherefore dost thou laugh?” “Iddawc,” replied Arthur, “I laugh not; but it pitieth me that men of such stature as these should have this island in their keeping, after the men that guarded it of yore.”
The central panel is a little like a religious icon too as it doesn’t deal with one moment in time but a continuum of events at a scene.”
Why has it taken so long (nearly a year)?
Dez says…“When I’m working on a story I’m telling it to myself over and over and gradually, as I do, I get to understand more and more, what it’s about. I’m changing and revising the picture along the way to incorporate my deeper understanding of the tale. Time is crucial for this kind of development, the story matures slowly like a good wine.
For instance my idea to put the Welsh hills behind Arthur changed about six months into the process. I realised that the motive of smoke was effectively the gateway to transport Rhonabwy and his comrades back in time to the magical world of King Arthur so that world should be surrounded by smoke.
The story presented other conundrums too, the final image had to show what was happening on the table, and at the same time convince the viewer that Rhonabwy could see what was happening on the table although he was such a small man and therefore actually viewing it from below. I hope I managed that, but it took a great deal of thinking and that took time!”
