Banshee (bean sí)

The banshee (bean sí in Irish) is a ghoulish figure from ancient Celtic fairy lore. She is said to appear as an omen of death, wailing and crying outside of the home for a loved one in the house who is soon to die. She is a pretty terrifying figure. Legend has it that the banshee only wails for five different Irish families. I am a descendant of one of those five families, so I felt compelled to portray this wailing wench in all her spooky glory!

I used the Celtic knots and spirals to represent both the banshee's hair and ghostly, whispy lower limbs. Her body is meant to look kind of androgynous. I'm a fan of engraving style artwork, so I used lots of lines on her body to create some depth, but they also look like they could be scars or tattoos of some kind. Basically, I tried to make her look creepy. Hopefully, I achieved that through mixing the engraving style into this.

Initial sketch

Sketch continued

Final product!

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Celtic Headless Horseman

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Original artwork available on quality apparel and accessories.

This is my interpretation of the legendary figure of American folklore, the Headless Horseman. Here he is portrayed in a Celtic style. Legend has it that the Headless Horseman was a Hessian (German) mercenary fighting for the British in the American Revolutionary War. That was, until an American cannonball took off his head! Now he rises every Halloween night to prowl the Village of Sleepy Hollow, NY searching for his missing head, and terrorizing locals for centuries.

 

Two versions of the artwork. Both styles are available on all apparel and accessories.

My original sketch of "Celtic Headless Horseman."

The Morrigan: Irish War Goddess

INITIAL SKETCH OF "THE MORRIGAN"

The Morrigan plays a prominent role in Irish mythology. She is associated with war, and is a shape-shifter, often taking the form of a battle crow. In the form of the battle crow, she is said to control fate; predicting which warriors shall live or die. In this capacity, she is quite similar to the Norse Valkyries.