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SciFi & Fantasy Art / Gallery 155 of 885 / Megaera Callisto Lorenz / Picture 11 of 30 / Down By the Greenwood Side

"Down By the Greenwood Side" by Megaera Callisto Lorenz

SF&F Picture 11 out of 30 by Megaera Callisto Lorenz

SciFi and Fantasy Art Down By the Greenwood Side by Megaera Callisto Lorenz

This is an illustration of a really, really creepy old folk-song. Like most folk-songs, it is known by several different titles. 'Down By the Greenwood Side' or 'The Cruel Mother' are the most common. It's about a young woman who gives birth to twins out of wedlock, and kills them to avoid disgrace. They come back to haunt her. It's a bit like a combination of Medea and Lady Macbeth. In this scene, the mother comes across two little boys playing ball several years after the murder of her children. She remarks to them that if they were hers, she would dress them in beautiful garments. They reply that they were hers once, and she treated them to no such luxury . . . The medium is pencil, darkened in photoshop.

Date	Name	Comment
17 Sep 2002	Navah Rosensweig	Loading... Oooh. Cool. After reading the descrip, you can really feel the shock and numb horror on the mother's face - the past catching up to her, as it were. Excellent job on the shading, and I don't know if it's deliberate or a mistake, but the boys look darker than the rest of the picture - and knowing the context, that makes em look like dark magic, evil ghosts of a sort. Dunno :hrug:: Either way, i think it's cool. Megaera Callisto Lorenz replies: "Thanks, Navah! It's a very cool song, albeit sad and grim . . . The melody is just gorgeous. Yeah, I was trying to make the boys look a little darker. I'm glad it had the appropriate effect! "
28 Oct 2002	Dana M. Luker	Loading... Wow, that's really awesome. o_o; I know that song! It is a pretty creepy song. ^-^; The mother's expression is really well done, as are the expressions of the boys. Since they are darker, its hard to see their faces, but it seems as if they are looking at her hatefully, full of anger. Anyway, great job! Megaera Callisto Lorenz replies: "Thank you, Dana! Yep, definitely a creepy song. I'm afraid the picture may be a bit too dark on some computer screens, but I guess it goes with the atmosphere of the scene!"
26 Apr 2003	'Whiteshadow' D. Frano	Loading... oh I LOVE that song! Have it on CD and everything. Truely lovely picture. I always imagined babies tho. shrugs
26 Dec 2003	ME!	Loading... Wish I could download the song.. can't find it. sigh But this is a great pic.. makes me want to listen to the song to hear how creepy it is, cause it seems like it would be creepy 'cause of the pic... I think that made since. oh well.. great pic!
6 Aug 2009	Anna Pz	Loading... I’ve never heard about the song but this picture reminds me about several old stories from Sweden about dead childen that had been killed by their mother. The one I think is most creepy is when she had become a bride and is followed by several little children that sings about that they didn’t have to become joined by more children since she’s a bride now. (It was very shameful to get pregnant before your marriage back then.)

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About 'Down By the Greenwood Side':

• Status: OK
• Created by:

Megaera Callisto Lorenz
• Copyright: ©Megaera Callisto Lorenz. All rights reserved!

• Keywords: Folk, Song, Greenwood, Side, Ghost, Mother, Child, Children, Pencil
• Categories: Ghosts, Ghouls, Aparitions, Woman, Women
• Techniques: Mechanical/Technical Pencils
• Views: 832
• Resolution: 325x434

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'Step this way, please . . .'	Lilith	Princess Nelu
Bird Lady	Art Trade: Haydain and Rhonwyn	Megaera the Fury

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