The Ballad of the White Horse

"King Alfred looks upon the White Horse"
June 22nd, 2010
Watercolor

This is for you ~FireFiriel! You have waited very patiently for me to get a move on this. I have finally finished it! This image here is not of the best quality because it's just a quick photograph I snapped off, but it's already really late and I'll have to replace this with a better, scanned image after I come back from vacation. Enjoy! And since a friend of mine asked for a tutorial/step-by-step of how I do my watercolors I'll upload that as well.

I'm not 100% happy with this, but I was experimenting with new watercolors and new brushes. The new brushes are fantastic. The watercolors....not so much. They're rather cheap, but I suppose they work. I think what I dislike most is the way the trees came out. I could have done a much better job with that.

Anyway, the "White Horse" in this picture is the Uffington White Horse in England. On Google maps you can see it if you type in "Uffington Castle." It's just northeast of Dragon Hill Road. [link]

I did a Step-by-Step Tutorial of this, in case you are interested in seeing the process. Ballad of the White Horse Tutorial

BOOK I THE VISION OF THE KING

"Before the gods that made the gods
Had seen their sunrise pass,
The White Horse of the White Horse Vale
Was cut out of the grass.

Before the gods that made the gods
Had drunk at dawn their fill,
The White Horse of the White Horse Vale
Was hoary on the hill.

Age beyond age on British land,
Aeons on aeons gone,
Was peace and war in western hills,
And the White Horse looked on.

For the White Horse knew England
When there was none to know;
He saw the first oar break or bend,
He saw heaven fall and the world end,
O God, how long ago.

For the end of the world was long ago,
And all we dwell to-day
As children of some second birth,
Like a strange people left on earth
After a judgment day.

....

And there was death on the Emperor
And night upon the Pope:
And Alfred, hiding in deep grass,
Hardened his heart with hope.

A sea-folk blinder than the sea
Broke all about his land,
But Alfred up against them bare
And gripped the ground and grasped the air,
Staggered, and strove to stand.

He bent them back with spear and spade,
With desperate dyke and wall,
With foemen leaning on his shield
And roaring on him when he reeled;
And no help came at all.

He broke them with a broken sword
A little towards the sea,
And for one hour of panting peace,
Ringed with a roar that would not cease,
With golden crown and girded fleece
Made laws under a tree."

- The Ballad of the White Horse
by G.K. Chesterton