VirginiaParker Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I am trying to puzzle out the design of the Swan Song illustrated letter S. If there is any group able to suss this out, it will be y'all. These are the best images I've found (thanks, Google) taken from a record label and stationary. I clearly see a swan's neck and head forming the top S curve, and another swan's neck and head curving around on the left. It's the teardrop shape that baffles me. I think that's a wing crossing the right hand curve next to the W, and possibly another swan head/neck curving in a U shape, but what is the bottom half of that shape? Is it a nest or a continuation of the wing? And what is that twirly bit under the curve of the top of the S? I don't have a high enough resolution image to enlarge or an original to examine. Hoping someone here has something they can take a look at and let me know. Many thanks, and happy thanksgiving to one and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie0024 Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 This is the back of a 1980 Swan Song tour jacket, showing the detail on the stylised 'S's. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S2iBAsw5Xek/Scl0yPkCZNI/AAAAAAAAADU/XUcZIDIxKj8/s1600/DSC_9780.JPG From this page: http://vintagetourjackets.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/led-zeppelin-1980-swan-song-tour-jacket.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirginiaParker Posted November 22, 2012 Author Share Posted November 22, 2012 That is excellent! Perfect for what I need. I am going to make it part of a repeating pattern in the drapery on the LZ painting. Many, many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie0024 Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Oh gosh I totally just realised who you were and got a little starstruck. Pleased to have helped out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hecube Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Where can one get the two blue books in the painting? And by the way, the blonde in the portrait reminds me of a character in a certain movie... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirginiaParker Posted November 22, 2012 Author Share Posted November 22, 2012 The blue books are actual books, but the titles are added, Hecube. The one with the four symbols is, in fact, a well-used Thesaurus. The others are old leather bound volumes of poetry. The yellow drapery has red Tibetan designs. I plan to replace one of them with a running border of the Swan Song S. It has a sort of paisley shape which will work well, if I can get it right. Thanks to Cookie, the odds I can pull it off have improved dramatically. There's another border that is pretty much just upright straight marks over a underline. My idea is to substitute I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hecube Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirginiaParker Posted November 29, 2012 Author Share Posted November 29, 2012 Thanks Cookie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knebby Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Lovely stuff And so unique. Sometimes this place is great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hecube Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 So... is the painting for sale and how much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie0024 Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Aaah it's so cool seeing that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirginiaParker Posted November 30, 2012 Author Share Posted November 30, 2012 Thanks all. I strayed away from painting thread, but it certainly paid off. Without Cookie0024's generous lead to a clear reference for the S letter, I'd still be spinning my wheels. Today I fiddled at edges - the side of the feathers, the frame around the princess image, the spark on the wicks of the candle, and added blue in the sword blade. Tomorrow I'm going to attempt the winged God Swan Song logo, based on a painting of Apollo. Fortunately I have many excellent references for that, from a jpg of the original painting, to a 45 record, to various graphic renderings. Hecube, the painting was commissioned by Dan and thus belongs to him. We collaborated on the content and it's intended to suit him very particularly. Think of it as a bespoke work of art. It's been my good fortune that our vision for the finished piece has been so in synch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Percys_Plant Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Wow. Fantastic work, Virginia. The drape reminds me of something you'll see in a Moroccan market. You can almost feel the texture of it, and the motif works so well. Kudos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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