WALKTHROUGH VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgxoqjXpD0c
CLOSE-UPS: http://sta.sh/0lpx8l2quy0
MORE DETAILS AND WIP SHOTS: http://goo.gl/cdb3Dg
ANIMATED VERSION: http://fav.me/d7e8ng1

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"Oh! What an honor for the feminine sex!...
This entire realm, once lost by [wretched men],
restored and saved by a woman again"
"Ditié de Jehanne d'Arc", by Christine de Pizan, 1429, one of the earliest known feminist writers.

"From my girlhood to the present time, in a
wondrous fashion I have felt in myself the
power and mystery of secret and
wonderful visions..."
St. Hildegard of Bingen, mystic, poet, and composer from the early 12th Century.

"A little girl [...]
Upon whom arms and armor
weigh lightly; [...]
Before her all foes take off at a run,
Of them none remains, not even a one."
"Ditié de Jehanne d'Arc" by Christine de Pizan

Excerpts from "VOICES OF LIGHT"(Richard Einhorn) lyrics, which were taken from works by medieval female mystics.

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It started when I was watching American Horror Story: Asylum and this masterpiece called "Pater Noster" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhC4EX7sPFI ) started to play on the background. Of course I fell in love at first listening, and soon I searched for more of it, for the album, and I found "Voices of Light", an album that was composed by Richard Einhorn, inspired by Carl Dreyer's "Passion of Joan of Arc" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Passion_of_Joan_of_Arc ) , a silent movie made in 1928.

A couple of days later, literally like 2 or 3 days after discovering about this amazing album I decided to watch this movie called "That's What I Am", that deals a lot with bullying and prejudice and.... where the teacher reads to the class, throughout the movie, the book about Joan of Arc - no I had no idea of it when I decided to watch it and yes it started to bug me why Joan of Arc suddenly appeared in my life lol. But I decided that it would probably be a really interesting theme for a new painting so I started to think about what I could do, what kind of painting it could be.

And then days later, Kelly Lewis (aka Kelly Is Nice Photography, whose work I am really fan of) released a sneak peak for her most recent photoshoot (http://kellyisnice.tumblr.com/post/78999054521/heres-a-mini-movie-from-todays-cosplay-photo ), featuring her daughter Alice as Joan of Arc, releasing the entire photoshoot a couple of weeks later ( http://kellyisnice.tumblr.com/post/80498459353/joanofarc ). That's when I decided I would use Alice as reference for Joan! Thank you a lot Kelly, for giving me permission to use it and for the inspiration! <3

About the painting:
There was some researching envolved, which is always fun because I always end up learning a lot! Watched both The Passion of Joan of Arc and Luc Besson's The Messenger as inspirations and to learn more about her story, and see the different opinions / depictions about her. I really loved both movies! I highly recommend them, and also Richard Einhorn's Voices of Light, UGH! What an AMAZING album. My favorite songs are Pater Noster ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhC4EX7sPFI ) and Torture ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn2lgMN3v_I ). Follow the lyrics and translation at the videos' descriptions, it's really interesting.

Wanted a familiar yet new kind of image for Michael the Archangel (one of the voices Joan claimed to hear), so I used Guido Reni's famous painting as a reference, but decided to make them chubbier (so they would look more mighty and menacing and strong) but looking very androgynous and young, almost like a child, because I wanted them to look really beautiful - also, I wanted their beauty to contrast with the bizarre/supernatural look, with all the lights and eyes and butterfly patterns on their wings.

Joan of Arc's halo features her personal symbols: the sword, the Fleur de Lis, the cross and a burning fire around it; Michael's halo features the translation of his name / retorical question written in Latin: Quis Ut Deus (or "Who is like God?").

Enjoy! =D

REFERENCES:
Alice as Joan of Arc, by Kelly Is Nice Photography: http://kellyisnice.tumblr.com/post/80498459353/joanofarc
"The Archangel Michael Defeating Satan", by Guido Reni: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Guido_Reni_031.jpg
"Demon Hunter 6", by Tasastock: http://tasastock.deviantart.com/art/Demon-Hunter-6-363082536

TOOLS: Paint Tool SAI | Photoshop CS4 | Wacom Bamboo PEN | Sekka | Around 30 hours

ALICE AS JOAN OF ARC Pictures (c) Kelly Is Nice Photography
ART, Saint Michael's Design (c) ME, Celtic Botan - Do not use, alter or copy