The Northern Crown

Collaboration with Victoria Herrera

Recently, I discovered a collaboration show at Oh Gallery here in Springfield, MO. I immediately thought of Tori when I saw it. She is not only an incredible artist, but also very responsible and an absolute joy as a friend. We submitted our art for review and waited anxiously to see if we were accepted.

Well, WE WERE!

We decided we wanted to do a depiction of depth and power and beauty, something that was colorful and fierce. What better way than a painting of a woman? As we walked through the process, we both felt that we needed to include the vibrant colors I love so much, and I was determined to utilize her skill with faces. The intention was to create something that encompassed how incredible each and every woman is, without diminishing either of our styles.

We absolutely fell in love with the result!

Tori sketched out the silhouette and we immediately knew this was the one!

Since I work in acrylic, I did the underpainting and then filled the silhouette with beautiful colors and as many stars as I could fit. I then passed the painting off to Tori so she could add her incredible, glowing features and the larger stars. She was PERFECT!

But, we hadn’t come up with a name yet!

The obvious choice was to look to the stars, so we began our journey of discovery. We went through many constellations and mythological names before finally discovering "The Northern Crown", a beautiful constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. Only four of the stars are visible to the naked eye, which happened to look very much like what we had painted.

It also enhanced the idea of painting a "woman of depth and power", as the myth is that of Ariadne in Greek mythology.

Ariadne, in Greek mythology, was the daughter of Pasiphae and the Cretan king Minos. She fell in love with Theseus, the Athenian hero. When he slew the Minotaur, a half-bull/half-man that her father kept in the Labyrinth, she rescued him and led him to safety using a thread or glittering jewels.

After finding that story and seeing how closely the stars matched our beautiful creation, we realized this HAD to be the name.

But the best part of all? The Latin name for the constellation is Corona Borealis.

As you all know, the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) had a tremendous impact on all of our lives over the past year. It was only right that when we were searching for something to represent the power and depth of a woman, it would not only have symbolism in the stars, but also in regards to the strength and resiliency we've all shown in conquering each day through these challenging times.

I hope that when you see this painting, it reminds you that you are strong and resilient and incredibly powerful. I hope you see yourself reflected in the stars, the depth of which you don’t even know yet. And I hope it propels you to go out and be the hero in your own story.

Sending all my love,

Shannon Joy

48 x 24 Acrylic & Oil on Canvas. Currently for Sale.

Inquire for pricing: shannon@shannonjoy.art

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