"Faces of Pharaohs"

This week I've spent alot of time reading a book titled "Faces of Pharaohs"



Found it in our local Oxfam book shop (which has many rare & interesting reads) for £7....Quite alot for a second hand book but its so totally awesome and for charity so I didnt mind so much!
I very rarely become completely absorbed in a book but I read this one (almost all the way though) in a day. I'm hooked! Theres something almost otherworldly about the Egyptians and the way they lived. The way they treat the body after death absolutely fascinates me.
If I lived back then I would probably be an embalmer! The wrapping process, the iconography, the ritual....theres nothing quite like it today.





I've been thinking about doing a piece of blackwork with the coffins;



The amount of work which goes into each one is astounding - inlays jewels colored glass resins, all hand carved with meticulous hands. I'd love to re-create this somehow with just a black pen, I think doing a facial piece would be cool because I can experiment with shine on the stones and trying to make them glisten...Difficult I know but if i get it right the shine will really bring the piece to life...

Before I start sketching though, I will have to look into iconography and hieroglyphs - I may add some blackwork wording in there...I want the piece to be really meaningful not just a pretty picture...



Love the eyes especially! Lookin' forward to stylizing those!



....and lastly a little sneeky peek at the piece I've been working on recently ^_~