kallistē

IF (Illustration Friday), 7/25/14 the topic was Golden.  This was a no-brainer topic for me, and while it done for the most part, it was a long time coming.  For 'Golden' I decided that is was time to dust off and finish a piece that I had been developing for several years off and on, primarily due to frustration, as any artist knows sometimes you have to shelf a project because it just isn't working. 
I have long had an affinity for mythology, and one of my favorite story elements was what I feel was the commonly overlooked reason behind the Trojan War that most media depictions never address.  I chose to illustrate Eris (Discord), holding the prized Golden Apple (of Discord).  In the famous retelling of the 'Judgement of Paris', Eris had be snubbed by the other Gods, and was not invited to a wedding held on Olympus (primarily due to her reputation for causing discourse).  In retaliation, Eris took a golden apple from Hera's sacred grove in the Garden of Hesperides, inscribed upon it the word kallistē ("For the most beautiful one" or "To the Fairest One"), and tossed it into the crowd at the banquet on Olympus.  Knowing full and well this would cause strife among the revelers, Eris watched as the three most well recognized Goddesses: Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera fought over the prize.  This is turn led to the 'Judgement of Paris', in which the apple was awarded to Aphrodite, and as a result, the Trojan War.   To me, this seems to be the origin in which the apple becomes the source of evil, which many modern tales draw inspiration from.  I'm satisfied with the final product for the most part, yet there is part of me that feels I could still work on it, but at some point you just have to call it done.  The piece is entirely digital, done in Painter, with some manipulations done in Photoshop.