Viking Celtic Art Irish Blessing
Running waves, greyish blues of the sea, the metal of weapons, and the salt-weathered wood of a Viking longship were the inspiration for this piece.
Vikings are often portrayed as brutal barbarians and, while they were fierce warriors, their greatest accomplishments were far more peaceful. Vikings were expert navigators, explorers, inventors, and skilled crafts people who left indelible marks on European culture and development. With their swift and agile longships they were able to travel faster and further than any other Europeans of the era. These fearless Norse travelers connected distant parts of the globe through trade and allowed for the flow of culture and ideas throughout Europe and even the Middle East.
While their initial contact with the Celtic peoples of Ireland was violent, Vikings eventually established peaceful settlements there intermarrying with local clans, and founding many great towns such as Dublin, Cork, Wexford, Limerick, and Waterford. The Irish also benefited by the shared technological advancements the Vikings had made in weapons, and warships.
This piece was designed with the unity of these two cultures in mind.
The curved metal edge and wood color of the capital “M” are inspired by the Battle Axe, a unique weapon invented by the Vikings. The axe blade motif is carried through to the sharp metallic curves imbedded in the knotwork.
The knotwork border is adapted from a design found on the 9th century South Cross of the Clonmacnoise monastery in Ireland. Painted the color of salt and sea weathered wood and reinforced with metal rivets, the round, running pattern suggests the feeling of waves crashing against the war shields lining the deck of a Viking Longship. Accenting both the knotwork and letters are bits of color in the shades of blue, green, and grey of a northern sea.
The text is written with brown walnut ink in a Celtic script of my own design derived from an 8th century Gospel of St. Matthew.
Text reads:
May you never steal,
lie, or cheat. But if you
must steal, then steal
away my sorrows. And
if you must lie, lie with me
all the nights of my life.
And if you must cheat,
then please cheat death
because I could not live a
day without you.
Original artwork crafted entirely by hand on Arches hot press paper with watercolors and accented with pure palladium leaf.
The original artwork measures 12"x16". Prints are available in multiple standard sizes. I can also print in custom sizes.
***UNLESS OTHERWISE REQUESTED*** All my prints are printed with an extra 1/2" border for easy matting and handling. Leave a note at checkout if you do not want this border.
I strive to accurately photograph my artwork but please allow for slight variation in color due to differences in screen settings.
This listing is for a high quality Giclee print of my original artwork.
Dimensions are in Inches.
