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SojournStudio — The Stranger

Published: 2004-12-16 04:11:25 +0000 UTC; Views: 561; Favourites: 6; Downloads: 71
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Description For *anaria who won a commission from me in the art raffle held by *brianne333 and inspired by the song "The Stranger" by Billy Joel.

Well we all have a face
That we hide away forever
And we take them out and
Show ourselves
When everyone has gone
Some are satin some are steel
Some are silk and some are leather
They're the faces of the stranger
But we love to try them on

Well we all fall in love
But we disregard the danger
Though we share so many secrets
There are some we never tell
Why were you so surprised
That you never saw the stranger
Did you ever let your lover see
The stranger in yourself?

Don't be afraid to try again
Everyone goes south
Every now and then
You've done it, why can't
Someone else?
You should know by now
You've been there yourself

Once I used to believe
I was such a great romancer
Then I came home to a woman
That I could not recognize
When I pressed her for a reason
She refused to even answer
It was then I felt the stranger
Kick me right between the eyes

Well we all fall in love
But we disregard the danger
Though we share so many secrets
There are some we never tell
Why were you so surprised
That you never saw the stranger
Did you ever let your lover see
The stranger in yourself?

Don't be afraid to try again
Everyone goes south
Every now and then
You've done it why can't
Someone else?
You should know by now
You've been there yourself

You may never understand
How the stranger is inspired
But he isn't always evil
And he is not always wrong
Though you drown in good intentions
You will never quench the fire
You'll give in to your desire
When the stranger comes along.

Lyrics copyright Billy Joel.

Coloured pencil and acrylic on Bristol - original size: 11 x 14 inches
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Comments: 28

robertsloan2 [2005-10-08 05:51:44 +0000 UTC]

The masks are so striking and realistic. I love the way you conveyed all the different textures, the leather and the shining metal and the clean white porcelain, the contrast of a naturalistic face -- so great. And the song helped me understand what inspired this. Very cool.

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SojournStudio In reply to robertsloan2 [2005-10-08 13:21:39 +0000 UTC]

Thank you Living down here in the Land of Mardi Gras, it was easy to find plenty of reference material for the masks. I'm extremely happy with out the different textures came out, too!

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robertsloan2 In reply to SojournStudio [2005-10-09 06:30:22 +0000 UTC]

Oh, that is so much what this reminded me of! I lived in New Orleans for most of the 90s and loved it, spent more time living in the French Quarter than not. Southern Decadence was as much fun as Mardi Gras. The textures on this are wonderful! And the realistic face reminds me of several of the famous Mardi Gras poster characters.

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SojournStudio In reply to robertsloan2 [2005-10-09 15:59:44 +0000 UTC]

*GRIN* I've never done Mardi Gras in New Orleans, always went to Mobile for that. BUT, I did go to Southern Decadence every year since 2000 and had a BLAST!

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robertsloan2 In reply to SojournStudio [2005-10-09 21:42:11 +0000 UTC]

That probably would've been cool! I didn't know anyone in Mobile or anywhere else that did Mardi Gras, so I stayed home for it. When I lived in the French Quarter sometimes it was right outside my door, which was kind of cool actually. I didn't have that far to stagger when I was drunk! lol

I loved Hurricanes. I just think of that and I think of those pink cardboard milk cartons with Hurricanes in them. A sensible law. Party in the streets, drinking on the street is fine, no glass containers.

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RoseImmortal [2005-10-08 04:19:47 +0000 UTC]

Very good job! I never thought of the song, though it really fits--to me, they looked like Carnival masks.

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SojournStudio In reply to RoseImmortal [2005-10-08 13:22:31 +0000 UTC]

Thank you

They were inspired by Mardi Gras masks that I saw over in Mobile and New Orleans.

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RoseImmortal In reply to SojournStudio [2005-10-08 16:15:46 +0000 UTC]

Very cool.

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darkfantasyland [2004-12-28 21:38:01 +0000 UTC]

Great work, I love how you blend the color pencils very well. I love the details on all of the masks and the face. The pink relfection on the metal mask is very well done, it really does look like its metallic.

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SojournStudio In reply to darkfantasyland [2004-12-29 00:52:48 +0000 UTC]

Thank you Coloured pencil is probably my absolute favourite medium. Combined with acrylic in light washes, it makes for some fantastic depth of colour!

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Taiphen [2004-12-28 21:35:14 +0000 UTC]

hummm...interesting piece! Love the way you organized the masks and of course the way they all worked out!

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SojournStudio In reply to Taiphen [2004-12-29 00:54:18 +0000 UTC]

Thank you I organised the composition according to the song and it turned out to be just perfect.

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kujasbaby [2004-12-28 02:38:22 +0000 UTC]

the colors are amazing,very nice detail

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SojournStudio In reply to kujasbaby [2004-12-28 12:28:24 +0000 UTC]

Thank you

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kujasbaby In reply to SojournStudio [2004-12-28 20:12:01 +0000 UTC]

yw

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faelyana [2004-12-28 02:10:30 +0000 UTC]

Interesting. I especially like the metal mask.

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SojournStudio In reply to faelyana [2004-12-28 12:32:10 +0000 UTC]

Thank you

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Dragon-BZ [2004-12-28 01:56:40 +0000 UTC]

Hmm, I really like the shading in the Pink, foremost mask. The silver reflective one is AMAZING!!! The reflections of the pink give it a really realistic feel. The one nearest the back on the right is really interesting...In one way it reminds me of something an executioner would wear . . . I like them all!!!

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SojournStudio In reply to Dragon-BZ [2004-12-28 01:57:32 +0000 UTC]

Thank you I really enjoyed doing this piece. I love reflective surfaces and the texture of the leather mask was an interesting challenge.

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dalamarlotherus [2004-12-21 18:36:20 +0000 UTC]

Dear god! i love this! Especially how you've done the metallic highlights on the second mask.. and the face, so realistic!

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SojournStudio In reply to dalamarlotherus [2004-12-22 12:28:25 +0000 UTC]

Thank you I love doing metalic reflections and skin tones, so I suppose I got to show of my two favourite textures here.

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drailed [2004-12-18 03:37:02 +0000 UTC]

Excellent work.
The shading on the faces is very nicely done.
Love the colors.
Great concept.

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SojournStudio In reply to drailed [2004-12-18 13:46:56 +0000 UTC]

Thanks

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Sachriel [2004-12-16 18:25:15 +0000 UTC]

that looks great!

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SojournStudio In reply to Sachriel [2004-12-17 04:04:36 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Sachriel In reply to SojournStudio [2004-12-17 12:26:10 +0000 UTC]

anytime

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anaria [2004-12-16 04:36:28 +0000 UTC]

Wow, I absolutely adore this! I love how all the masks look, and how the second mask on the left reflects both of the adjacent masks; I love her face, and how you colored it - this looks absolutely wonderful, thank you again!

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SojournStudio In reply to anaria [2004-12-16 18:20:45 +0000 UTC]

I'm so glad you like it! Note me with your address and I'll try to get it in the mail next week!

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