Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Illustration Friday: CHAIR

And so I am having Dr.Zhivago moment here…Whimsical Zhivago? I looked through a few translations, and this one is my favorite by far, though the boots in other translations are ether tiny shoes or slippers… and therefore, no boots! Lily.

Winter night


The blizzards all across the earth
Have swept uncurbed
The candle burned upon the desk
The candle burned


As in the summer, moths are drawn
Towards the flame
The pale snowflakes soared
Towards the pane


Upon the glass, bright snowy rings
And streaks were churned
The candle burned upon the desk
The candle burned


On the illumined ceiling
Shadows swayed
A cross of arms, a cross of legs
A cross of fate


Two boots fell down on the floor
With crashing sound
And from the crown tears of wax
Dripped on the gown


And nothing in the snowy haze
Could be discerned
The candle burned upon the desk
The candle burned


A gentle draft blew on the flame,
And in temptation,
It raised two wings into a cross
As if an angel


It swept and swept all through the month
This frequently occurred
The candle burned upon the desk
The candle burned


Translated by Andrey Kneller

17 Comments:

Blogger Anonymous said...

My favourite of yours to date! Excellent lines, colour and atmosphere Lily! Love the glassed windows. Want those slippers with matching chair :)

9:30 PM  
Blogger Lily and Lucy White said...

Every girl MUST have a pair of slippers to match her chair and a feather boa...
On unrelated note -- if Andrea will come to visit -- I can't get to her blog, it just would not load... Lily.

9:32 PM  
Blogger Anonymous said...

Completely agree :) On the other note - Andrea uses Flickr which has been having loading problems which are most probably related.

10:34 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

a poetic beatuiful piece!!

10:45 PM  
Blogger Stephen said...

Yep - Master and Margarita is one of the great ones - I felt so sad when I finished it the first time - i wanted it to go on for years.
Beautiful pastel(?) painting! Neat vertical composition too!
-steph

4:56 AM  
Blogger gisedesign said...

Excellent technique.Beautiful.

5:26 AM  
Blogger bee'nme said...

This is a truly lovely illustration for the poem and the topic - you capture the mood quite well with your colors and composition. Nicely done!

5:36 AM  
Blogger AscenderRisesAbove said...

Wonderful little pastel.

5:54 AM  
Blogger Jeope said...

Beautiful. Would love to know how big it is in actuality. Nice work. Thanks for showing.

7:08 AM  
Blogger Lily and Lucy White said...

Actually it is not pastel, it is acrylic on paper. The size is 3 ½” by about 9”, so it is not very large…rather small. My sweetie, the Druid, thinks it came together so quickly that I had no time to over think it, and muck it up, he-he. Lily.

7:42 AM  
Blogger carla said...

Wow - I can see that contrast between the blustery cold outside and the warmth inside. I also thought it was pastel...there's something powdery about the texture. The play of light throughout is amazing. I need to say WOW again:>

8:37 AM  
Blogger andrea said...

Both glamourous AND a chair! :)

9:58 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I really like the windows, and the light treatment. There is a lot of texture going on and sultry colors.

2:56 PM  
Blogger valerie walsh said...

i love this!!!

5:20 PM  
Blogger Tony LaRocca said...

beautiful picture and poem, but watch that candle so close to the drapes!

6:45 PM  
Blogger ottoblotto said...

Excellent piece!

7:18 PM  
Blogger Anonymous said...

You have a Druid ... I have a Bearman and he is the one who ALWAYS mucks up };-}

11:22 PM  

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