"Flurina Mourning" by Désirée R. ´Eo´ Dippenaar

"Her hand flew to her mouth as a choked sob escaped her throat. She could no longer stop the tears from flowing, no longer stop herself from crying - not for the man who had beaten her and who had come home drunk in the middle of the night, but for the man who had kissed her and caressed her face, who had first told her that he loved her, who brought her flowers from the alp when he was in a good mood. What had happened to that man? He had died long ago, with the first plants that refused to grow, left behind on a dead and barren field."  - At the End of Broken Dreams (by me)

I drew this picture partly because of the scene, partly because I had an obsession with the Swiss alps the time I drew this, and partly to show some elements of Flurina's culture. The bracelets and bangles all have significance; the ones she is wearing signify that she has one son and one daughter, that she was married, and that she is a widow. The gypsies are the last people to know how to use magic, and in a world that is searching for magic again, they are the source of inspiration for many, though they prefer to ignore that and continue living their own calm lives in the mountains...

(October 2007)