Bearded Stephen portrait
I made/manipulated/conjured-up a portrait of Stephen. There's a line in Desolation Island about him having a beard that makes him look like an El Greco painting, and I just found that so endearing! So I went on a quest to find the most Stephenish El Greco portrait, and then I further Stephenised it by messing with the clothes and hair.
I would never presume to say he IS Stephen. That would be blasphemy. No one can accurately portray the full majesty and splendor of Stephen (which is why I haven't ever tried, except in scribbles. I only draw people I can see in life, and I know I would fail sadly to capture my imagined Stephen's likeness, and then my pitiful attempt would tarnish some of that mental image, and I would be sad. I didn't even paint his face on my wooden poppet. But this is just an idea, with the face of a real 16th century man with lovely Stephenish qualities. Whoever that man was, I like his face.)
So here's the El Greco Stephen. A tired, worn, thin, exhausted, bearded, weary, but clean Spanish-looking Stephen. And some non-plot-spoilery lines from the book because I love the mental image they evoke.
Click for picture and text
I would never presume to say he IS Stephen. That would be blasphemy. No one can accurately portray the full majesty and splendor of Stephen (which is why I haven't ever tried, except in scribbles. I only draw people I can see in life, and I know I would fail sadly to capture my imagined Stephen's likeness, and then my pitiful attempt would tarnish some of that mental image, and I would be sad. I didn't even paint his face on my wooden poppet. But this is just an idea, with the face of a real 16th century man with lovely Stephenish qualities. Whoever that man was, I like his face.)
So here's the El Greco Stephen. A tired, worn, thin, exhausted, bearded, weary, but clean Spanish-looking Stephen. And some non-plot-spoilery lines from the book because I love the mental image they evoke.
Click for picture and text