Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France Final

Posted on by Thor

The final version of the poster for the Orlando Shakespeare Theater production of Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France just involved me repainting the face since I now knew that Roberta Emerson would be playing the part of Queen Margaret. Emerson was credited with an “ice cold” performance and was honored by the Orlando Sentinel for her role for her ruthless demeanor and moments of vulnerability.  It was a rare role where the female lead could demand and gain absolute power.

Queen Margaret was a foreign bride, newly married to Henry VI. Unlike her husband, who was a weak ruler, Margaret was proactive and ruthless, commanding armies and seeking to secure the crown for her son. She was powerful in her own right, defying gender norms to engage directly in political intrigue and warfare. She became a Machiavellian political force, serving as a catalyst for chaos.

She despised her  weak husband and dominated court politics, engineered the downfall of Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, and began to dominate the House of Lancaster, setting the stage for the Wars of the Roses.

This was a rare case where I found out during the painting of the poster who the actress would be for the play many months in the future. There was fabulous reference because she had performed in many other Shakespeare productions.

Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France, Second Pass

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In the second pass at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater poster for Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France, I removed the mail hood that made her had look cylindrical. If I wanted to make it clear this warrior was a woman, I needed to let her hair flow. The armor was changed to me nor angular and chiseled in look. Putting a sharp edge across the chest made it clear that a woman’s anatomy would fit and it also added a hint of pride.

I wanted to go in and start cleaning up and adding detail to the face and hair, but I had all the other poster changes to make as well. Sometimes I have a second sense about leaving well enough alone. In this approval meeting I learned that the lead actress who would be playing the part of Queen Margaret would be Roberta Emerson, who looked nothing like the woman I was depicting. Luckily she had performed in other Shakespeare productions and I was given some reference photos which were rather good. There was even one where she was shouting in the way I was depicting in this version of the poster.

Everything else was working. I had changed all aspects of the armor making it much shinier. I was glad I didn’t get caught up in the details of the face and hair. All that Information was on one layer in my digital painting program and I could just turn it off without affecting any other aspect of the painting. If I was working traditionally, I would have to start the whole painting over again.

In these versions of the poster I am showing I just flip on new layers and flip off old layers that needed changing. If a choice is made to go back to an older version, I always have that choice. I often borrow elements from rejected layers and incorporate them into the upper layer that is working better. This allows me to keep the painting constantly evolving and the best always rises to the surface.

I just needed to go back to the drawing board and put in Robeta Emerson as the Queen Margaret. I had abandoned the crown but started to feet that it was needed again.

Orlando Shakes performed “Bare Bard: Henry VI Part 2 – She Wolf of France” from January 8-19, 2025, at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Orlando. This “Bare Bard” production featured the, original-practices used in Shakespeare’s day with limited rehearsals and no director. Each actor would walk through the costume shop in turn and pick out their costume for the show.

 

Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France

Posted on by Thor

The first pass at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater poster for Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France by William Shakespeare focused on a female soldier and a white wolf howling in the woods. This was once again a play about the War of the Roses, so I included a white and red rose. I love painting roses, they are elegant and beautiful. Having worked on Mulan I have followed a story of a woman stepping onto the battlefield in a patriarchal society. She would have to be more of a warrior than any of the men.

I didn’t have to think about the Henry VI title treatment since I could lift it from the previous poster for consistency. It works. The expression was working but the pose itself felt static. I wanted something more chiseled and heroic. The crown fitting over the chain mail hood is something I found while researching. I imagine they must have designed a specific crown for that purpose. Visually when drawn it isn’t quite believable. I think it will need to fit more snug to the skull to work. To show the warrior was female I needed some long hair visible. I had it blow out form under the chain mail hood and into her face. This wasn’t an appealing or attractive choice but it hinted at the disheveled chaos of battle.

I started looking at heroic statues of warriors to figure out what else was needed to make the figure bolder. Straight lines would read better than the soft curves I was using in this rough sketch. I went back to the drawing board and I am pretty sure I submitted two passes of the idea at the first approval meeting. It is always good to have multiple versions of an idea or better yet multiple concepts to explore. I was following one path, but I was sure it needed improvement. That is what is so good about showing work in progress, people always have suggestions that send me down a new path and that is always exciting.

Henry VI Part 2: The She Wolf of France by William Shakespeare ran from January 8-19, 2025.

Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France, Final Poster

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The final painting for Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France involved painting actress Roberta Emerson to replace the generalized woman I had painted.Head shots are rather bland so we searched for reference of her looking much more angry.

Some brush stroked were cleaned up but otherwise I kept the bold look of the sketches.

The play runs from January 8 -19, 2025. Tickets are $35.

Orlando Shakes continues the exciting saga of Shakespeare’s Henry VI trilogy! A love triangle, a plot to murder, and a rebellion are all part of this thrilling tale – centered on the Wars of the Roses! In this raw, “Bare Bard / Original Practices” production, Orlando Shakes’ actors will perform the play with less than 40 hours of rehearsal, no designers, and no director – just like the acting companies of Shakespeare’s time! Don’t miss this exciting next chapter in Orlando Shakes’ popular Fire & Reign Series.

 

Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France 2nd Pass

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This pass at the Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France poster was done to rethink the armor and lighting. It is a very rough sketch of the idea and was for my eyes only at the time. It helped me come up with a more cubist and chiseled look to the poster. The painting is very unrefined. This was just my way of searching for a desired look.

The helmet came off to allow more hair to flow. With a bit more work this could have been refined to a final poster. However the actress who would play The She Wolf of France had just been cast.

My new goal became to paint actress, Roberta Emerson, into the poster. From this point forward I would be thinking of pushing the painting to a finish while still keeping some roughness. The show runs between January 8  19, 2025. Tickets are Pay What You Will, between $15 and $50.