Harvest Queen

In the airing cupboard is a very soggy piece of paper. Parts of it are wearing away and there will doubtless be a white residue of gel medium mixed with papier mache come morning. It is my entry to the Harvest challenge on Inspiration Avenue. It is very much an experiment along the lines of childhood mud pies. It began life as a coloured pencil sketch of a woman from the earth - the Queen of the harvest. Beetroot was applied like a deep cleansing mask to her face under a layer of gel medium and magazine, then the top layer scrubbed off, digging right down into her pores. More layers of acrylics and crayons have built up quite an intriguing background. One eye peers out from the foliage and roots, a hint of peachy cheek, a strand or two of hair.

In the meantime, here's one I prepared earlier. My drawing digitised with the harvest root spread. Can you spot the Queen surveying the fruits of her earthy labours?

PS: I don't suppose anyone knows where I put my book for the Sketchbook Project do they? It really is about time I started on filling it, but I put it somewhere safe and...