Snapedom

April Snape Art Contest: Gatsby Snape

bohemianspirit

4/12/09 05:25 am

This ended up being bigger than I originally planned, so I'm putting it behind a cut.

The trickiest part of this was getting Severus to still look like Severus with a 1920s hairdo. I think maybe he looks more like F. Scott Fitzgerald with a big nose ;-) but I did my best.

"They're a rotten crowd," I shouted, across the lawn. "You're worth the whole damn bunch put together." - The Great Gatsby

• Current Mood: nostalgic
• Tags:
  bohemianspirit, character analysis, fan art, lily potter, meta art, severus snape, snarc, snarc0409

• Send your Patronus

• the_bitter_word

  4/12/09 12:33 pm (UTC)

  

  You did a fabulous job, with such an appropriate choice of book in so many ways. I love the eyes, reminiscent of the original cover.
  
  

  • Reply
  • Thread

  • bohemianspirit

    4/12/09 12:41 pm (UTC)

    

    Thank you! When I finished reading Deathly Hallows, the comparison between Severus Snape and Jay Gatsby was one of the first things that sprang to mind. One of these days I shall write that essay.
    
    I love the eyes, reminiscent of the original cover.
    
    Heh. Quite intentional; thank you for noticing. ;-) The whole Lily's Eyes motif made a strong parallel with the role of The Eyes of Dr. Eckleburg in Gatsby. (Though the eyes on the cover are actually Daisy's, but they inspired Fitzgerald to create the Dr. Eckleburg billboard.)
    
    I made an icon with the eyes *points* and while part of me thinks it's kind of cool, part of me is really creeped out by it.

    • Reply
    • Parent

• vern

  4/12/09 02:15 pm (UTC)

  Nice job. I remember that book cover so well.

  • Reply
  • Thread

  • bohemianspirit

    4/13/09 12:28 am (UTC)

    

    Thank you. I shall ever be haunted by all those eyes... ;-)

    • Reply
    • Parent

• janus

  4/13/09 01:37 am (UTC)

  

  I've been admiring your icon from afar. It is strange - I have Sev in a sort of frivolous pan-fandom rp game. Daisy Buchanan was his girlfriend, but it didn't really work out... It was just silliness, but the book is in some ways so appropriate and the picture! the eyes!

  • Reply
  • Thread

  • bohemianspirit

    4/13/09 02:32 am (UTC)

    

    Thanks! Glad you liked the picture! I'm still creeped out by the eyes...
    
    I've been admiring your icon from afar.
    
    Grab a copy, if you like. Just credit me in the icon comments. ;-)
    
    It is strange - I have Sev in a sort of frivolous pan-fandom rp game. Daisy Buchanan was his girlfriend, but it didn't really work out...
    
    It didn't work out, in either universe. Fiction is stranger than fiction, or something like that. ;-) Definitely have to write that essay; obviously I'm not the only one seeing the parallels!

    • Reply
    • Parent

• severed_lies

  4/19/09 02:55 am (UTC)

  

  I love the entire composition and the progressive shading of your background. I must agree, the eyes are quite disturbing (as is the theory that Harry literally had Lily's eyes - ew!). Severus looks quite fetching in his clothes, and I can't help but imagine Lily never returning. That strange position of her flower makes me think that she is very careless with his heart. Sorry for the essay, but this is most striking and I am mesmerized.

  • Reply
  • Thread

  • severed_lies

    4/19/09 02:57 am (UTC)

    

    Also, what program did you use to create the entry? The results are fabulous.

    • Reply
    • Parent
    • Thread

    • bohemianspirit

      4/19/09 05:52 am (UTC)

      

      I used good old PaintShop Pro 5, which has followed me through several computers, using a mouse. I'm kind of glad they relaxed the requirement to use ArtPad, since I'm used to using PSP. My only frustration is that it's hard to get smooth lines drawing with a mouse: When I have the money, I think I'll get me one of these so I can have better control of the cursor.

      • Reply
      • Parent

  • bohemianspirit

    4/19/09 05:47 am (UTC)

    

    Thank you! I appreciate the detailed, thoughtful comments, so no need to apologize for length. (Besides, given the way I tend to ramble, I'd be a bit of a hypocrite if I complained about length.) The shading of the background was meant to suggest twilight (time of day, NOT the current movie/series) and I ended up leaving Severus and Lily as outlines, rather than coloring them in, intentionally.
    
    That strange position of her flower makes me think that she is very careless with his heart.
    
    Thank you for noticing! That detal with the drooping flower is quite intentional. I had in mind that it symbolized their relationship, if not specifically the "careless with his heart" angle, and I chose a daisy to connect Lily with Daisy, as well as the romantic symbolism ("she loves me, she loves me not"). Your comment also evokes Nick's famous words near the end of Gatsby: "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made..."
    
    Hmm. Maybe the subconscious was doing more, after all. ;-) And speaking of long comments... but there you have it. Thanks again!
    

    • Reply
    • Parent

  • bohemianspirit

    4/19/09 05:49 am (UTC)

    

    Actually, now that I think about it, that quote from Gatsby reminds me of Dumbledore more than anyone else. ;-) But he doesn't appear in this picture, unless indirectly as being more interested in creating and controlling his tools than in the welfare of the people involved.

    • Reply
    • Parent