Hello Lovelies! In this post, I’m showing you the ‘Making Of’ my digital artwork ‘Queen Bee‘. You’ll get to see screenshots of the major work in progress steps, as well as a timelapse video that shows you the creative process from start to finish. I speak about what inspired me to this artwork and about other works of mine where I’ve also worked with bees. Enjoy!
It was April 2014 when I started to work on ‘Queen Bee‘. At that time, she didn’t have her name yet; she was just another work. However, I stopped working on her at some point of time. Things just didn’t seem to want to fall in to place. I tried different backgrounds, I tried different hair styles… I was not for her. And I didn’t have that outer frame with the black pearls yet at that time. It didn’t look right.
So I just left her on my hard disk (as I do it with works that don’t seem to be right yet…) to come back to her whenever I feel ready.
She didn’t get out of my mind (as it is always the case with works that don’t seem to be right yet…), and SIX YEARS later, in 2020, she was finally meant to be finished.
What inspired me to the artwork 'Queen Bee'?
I don’t really like bees… but I don’t hate them either. I think I just like to work with them in some of my pieces.
I’ve already used bees and wasps in an earlier piece that I created back in 2013. That piece is ‘Extravaganza‘, which is one of the two ‘shoe creations’ that I made so far.
In ‘Extravaganza’, I combine elements of nature to form a natural (thorny) shoe. Besides bees, you will also see red moths (yes, they are moths and no butterflies), plants, soil, pearls and some barbwire that make up the shoe.
I also have a ‘Making Of’ of Extravanganza, if you’re interested in seeing the creative process steps of that piece.
A later piece where I’ve worked with bees is ‘Lisa‘ from 2019:
→ Check out the ‘Making of Lisa’ here.
However, what inspired me to ‘Queen Bee’ in particular were these two artworks:
Unfortunately, I don’t know exactly who the creators of these two beautiful works are. I think I came across these pieces on tumblr years ago (when tumblr still had a thriving art community) and saved them to my computer because I found them inspirational. Since then, they’ve been sitting on my hard disk… So if you know who the artists are and where I can find them on the internet, please let me know. I’ll give them credit and link back to their websites!
The Making Of 'Queen Bee'
Reverse layering
- Click to play
Work in Progress shots
These are the very beginnings of ‘Queen Bee’. As you can see, I still had a different background, some sort of white wall, which I think didn’t fit well into the scene…
But I’ve already created the outer frame here later on in 2020, with the black pearls, the black fleurs-de-lis (the stylized lilies composed of three petals bound together near their bases, which are a symbol of the former royal arms of France).
Please also note the blood that is dripping from some of the pearls…
My ‘Queen Bee’ is making some progress. I’ve added one of her arms (which is my arm) and some honeycombs on her chest. And I’ve started to create her flower dress.
The flower dress is made from a single stock image – the white petals of a chrysanth.
Even though one might think that it must have been pretty hard or tedious to create the entire dress using just one flower – no, it wasn’t. On the contrary, it was pretty fast and smooth. Sometimes, things just fall into place. When they are meant to be that way…
Making progress. She got her second arm (also mine) and a black girdle with purple pearls and a bow.
I also upped the curves quite a bit to make everything look brighter. Improving the brightness of an image usually has a huge effect on the overall composition. It’s one of the best tricks for photo manipulations that you shouldn’t miss trying out…
Here we go. ‘Queen Bee’ finally got an identity. I gave her my face and by now, you might already be able to guess where I’m getting at. The eyes, the extended hand, the open mouth… Yes, ‘Queen Bee’ wants to nosh on the bees’ honey.
There are already some bees on her body. They are living there, because she’s a flower…
She’s a queen with a scepter in her hand. But notice the tendril around her wrist? An element of nature. It’s holding on to the queen, holding her captive.
Her scepter is gold. But it has the stem of a rose. And roses have thorns that prick… They prick her hand and the skin starts bleeding. Still, she is a queen…
Here I’ve made some major progress in the creative process. I’ve changed the background and replaced the wall with a garden and the sky. Much better. I was really so much happier with it. I’ve also added some ivy twines around the frame, given her some hair and a flower collar.
I’ve also worked on the face, especially the eyes.
‘Queen Bee’ is finished. She got a crown on her head, because she’s a queen.
Now you can see her noshing on the honey. She dipped her fingers right into the bees’ comb and is now eagerly devouring the sweet liquid. It’s dripping down her chin and on her chest. She doesn’t care. She wants the honey.
But no pleasure without pain. Of course, bees sting. They defend their honey. Look at the stings on her body and the blood on her lips. Blood. The symbol of death but also the elixir of life.
In the end, is the pleasure worth the pain for ‘Queen Bee‘?
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I hope that this post helped you gain some insights into my creative process and better understand what I meant to express through this work. However, I know that art is subjective and I am always interested in knowing how my viewers perceive my art.
What do you think about this piece? How does it make you feel? What does it mean to you? Please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments. If this piece inspired you to create a new piece of your own, I would love to see it! Post a link in the comments, tag me on Instagram (@ginangiela), or reach out to me directly. Make sure to sign up for my email list below so you don’t miss out on new ‘Making Ofs’ and other cool stuff. ♥
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Queen Bee
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