Paint Party Friday: Huginn and Muninn

In my area you can see a lot of ravens and crows and the population grew over the last decade, so they really became a plague in some spots. But nevertheless I love those clever birds with their shiny black feathers(as long they leave the smaller birds and their nests alone). So it was time for me to extend my collection of animal drawings and draw a raven, a Common Raven (Corvus corax) to be precise. I used my Faber CAstell PITT ink pens and a black colored pencil, as I had no carbon pencil or drawing charcoal on hand. So here's the original drawing.

I usually copy and scan my original to make sure I have a copy, if the original gets lost. I took a print and added a passage from the Grímnismál, a song in the Poetic Edda, where Odin speaks of his ravens Huginn (thought) and Muninn (memory).

I'm als a big fan of the art of Sue Coleman and am fascinated by her combination of real life animals with the art and the totems of Northwestern Native American tribes. I always wanted to try something similar, so I took my raven and added a mirror image of it with some old Norse designs and scrolls. Still a lot of work, until I'm really pleased with my work, but it is a beginning. I think I'd love to make something like that with a wolf I drew in 2017.

I hope you enjoyed my drawing and I'm sharing this with PPF. Have a look at all the wonderful pieces of art shown by the other participants.