Siegfried's Rhine Journey

In the third opera of the Ring Cycle, "Siegfried," the title character is introduced. The son of the ill-fated union of Siegmund and Sieglinde, Siegfried the the pure, if naive hero that awakens Brunhilde from her enchanted spell as she lies asleep, surrounded by the circle of magic fire that was put in place as protection by her father, Wotan. Once awakened, complications ensue for the new lovers.

In this tableau, I can image the hero gazing down upon the Rhine Valley as the music swells in the background. Ironically, I'm listening to orchestral versions of the Ring music right now, including "Siegfried's Rhine Journey." Wagner may have been a wretched human being, but he could write sublime music.

I found this image interesting because of the little inconsistencies in it. The model was ernest and patient, but he looked a bit like a Southern California surfer dude to me. And the "armor" and leather skirt must have been a Roman Centurion costume borrowed from the church Eastern Pageant. The horned helmet was also a bit large, but somehow the model pulled it together with a strong pose and simple dignity. Good job!

This model produced one of my favorite shots from the paint-out. I'm guessing she is the tragic Sieglinde, mother to Siegfried, who died giving birth to the hero. There is a mysterious quality to this girl, and I thought the lighting in the glen was wonderful. In truth she is standing about 10 feet away from the guy portraying Siegfried, so various poses could be contemplated.

You have to love the modern world, however. Underneath that robe she was plugged into her iPod, blissfully listening to whatever it was she was listening to, zoning out with that enigmatic and exotic look that captivated many of the artists there. She was gorgeous.

And finally, here's a shot of Tina working away on a portrait of the model shown in my last post. The picture has undergone a bit of a metamorphisis since the paint-out. It's not done, but it is coming along nicely. I'll let Tina talk about it later when it's done and she posts it on her blog.

A Young Hero - Ring of the Nibelungen

The California Art Club held a Paint-out this past Saturday at the Maranatha High School campus in Pasadena. The event was in conjunction with the L.A. Opera's presentation of Richard Wagner's famous (or infamous) Ring Cycle, the massive tetralogy of Norse/Teutonic mythology. Several art students at the high school were recruited to pose for the artists in various tableaux through out the central walk on the campus. That walk is incredibly beautiful, with birch trees, waterfalls, a stream and a pond with Koi. I never knew high school could look so good!

In any event, this young man was sitting in a pensive pose with a rather cheesy feathered helmet. At least it was not as bad as the horned helmet another student wore (a subject for a later photo). Still, I thought it would make a nice portrait. I could not decide who he was supposed to be: Siegfried or Siegmund. He actually looked like Lohengrin, but that's another Wagnerian opera all together. Perhaps he was different Ring character, but he looked like a hero rather than a supporting member, so I'll call him Siegfried, the tragic and cursed son of the ill-fated brother and sister Siegmund and Sieglinde.

I did mention this was Wagnerian opera, didn't I?