FANART!!!! by stellamoon
The lovely lovely lovely organisers of the hp_uk_meetup gifted me with a gift certificate from stellamoon, as a thank you pressie for the sewing I did for them! Now, I have been keeping schtum about this, because I didn't want to tell y'all about it before it was finished. And also, because I was having an impossible time deciding what to ask for... Draco... Harry... no, Draco... no, Harry.... ACK, I can't decide!
Eventually, I did decide, and got in touch with the lovely stellamoon, who has been a complete JOY to collaborate with. She asked what I would like, and I sort of said... oh, ummm, I would really like something that shows something of the effect the war might have had on Draco. I am really interested in how he would react to the war and what the lasting effects on his character would be. Would he be looking for redemption? Seeking penance?
She took my very vague thoughts about this, and turned it into something that is simply exquisite. Seriously.
Draco has always been my favourite character in the HP books. Long long long before I got into fandom, he was the character I always wanted to see more of in the books, and was annoyed when we didn't (prior to HBP, anyway). He's always been the character I wanted to see explored, developed, fleshed out. And there was such potential there, potential to do something more interesting than the hapless adversary who foils our hero's plans. And since I got into fandom, he has continued to be my favourite character.
I have been thinking about Draco a lot recently. Partly because of a Draco-centric fic I wrote, currently in an anonymous fest near you. And more recently, because of faithwood's essay about him (which I am totes going to comment on). And because I am desperate to try and work out, using the clues in HBP and DH, what an adult war survivor Draco would be like. How much would his character be shaped? Transformed? And more importantly, how would he react to it? Would he seek penance, atonement? Would he give up? Would he squash it all down and keep his masks on?
In this portrait, Stella has given us a Draco who is feeling all of these emotions. It is such an astonishing piece of art - when I opened the package this morning, I really felt like I was hit in the gut by so much feeling rolling off him. The conflict about how to react, where to go, what to be, what to do, is all over his face. And there is a hint of compassion there too, in his eyes, I think, as if he has learnt what it is to truly suffer, and that this knowlege can no longer be hidden with masks. She has drawn a Draco who has gone through almost unimaginable horrors, but has come through the other side. He is wiser. He is hurt. But he is defiant too. He is still Draco fucking Malfoy.
Somehow, Stella has drawn the Draco in my head - the one I've been thinking about since I first read the HP books all those years ago. It is an astonishing portrait. Go, look, give her love.
Thank you, Stella. Thank you.
Eventually, I did decide, and got in touch with the lovely stellamoon, who has been a complete JOY to collaborate with. She asked what I would like, and I sort of said... oh, ummm, I would really like something that shows something of the effect the war might have had on Draco. I am really interested in how he would react to the war and what the lasting effects on his character would be. Would he be looking for redemption? Seeking penance?
She took my very vague thoughts about this, and turned it into something that is simply exquisite. Seriously.
Draco has always been my favourite character in the HP books. Long long long before I got into fandom, he was the character I always wanted to see more of in the books, and was annoyed when we didn't (prior to HBP, anyway). He's always been the character I wanted to see explored, developed, fleshed out. And there was such potential there, potential to do something more interesting than the hapless adversary who foils our hero's plans. And since I got into fandom, he has continued to be my favourite character.
I have been thinking about Draco a lot recently. Partly because of a Draco-centric fic I wrote, currently in an anonymous fest near you. And more recently, because of faithwood's essay about him (which I am totes going to comment on). And because I am desperate to try and work out, using the clues in HBP and DH, what an adult war survivor Draco would be like. How much would his character be shaped? Transformed? And more importantly, how would he react to it? Would he seek penance, atonement? Would he give up? Would he squash it all down and keep his masks on?
In this portrait, Stella has given us a Draco who is feeling all of these emotions. It is such an astonishing piece of art - when I opened the package this morning, I really felt like I was hit in the gut by so much feeling rolling off him. The conflict about how to react, where to go, what to be, what to do, is all over his face. And there is a hint of compassion there too, in his eyes, I think, as if he has learnt what it is to truly suffer, and that this knowlege can no longer be hidden with masks. She has drawn a Draco who has gone through almost unimaginable horrors, but has come through the other side. He is wiser. He is hurt. But he is defiant too. He is still Draco fucking Malfoy.
Somehow, Stella has drawn the Draco in my head - the one I've been thinking about since I first read the HP books all those years ago. It is an astonishing portrait. Go, look, give her love.
Thank you, Stella. Thank you.