Do you have a moment to talk about foliate heads?

I have! And I've drawn some!

My lovely agent Jehane runs a showcase of new work for all her artists, called Out of the Blue, where art directors and brands can see what we can offer. One of the themes we work on is a Passion Pitch - basically a dream project that you would love to translate into a book or product.

This year I knew what I wanted to focus on: Green Men

Nope, not the Roswell kind, or even the Woolpit kids kind. The faces - sometimes jolly, sometimes creepy - that can be found carved into church doorways, or on a swinging pub sign. And in a folkloric link, and because I love him, I tied in the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It’s my project, ok!

It’s not my place here to tell the story of the Green Man, its origins or its meaning, as they are debated and others with more insight can do it better. But I can show you some excellent examples that inspired my Passion Pitch!

6th-century Byzantine mosaic in the Great Palace Mosaic Museum, Istanbul. Isn’t he great? I love him. Image CC

I drew heavily on this Byzantine guy for my pattern, because I love his expression, and those big soulful eyes. I don’t have a crush on him or anything. But he is my lock screen. Anyway…here are some examples you would be more likely to find in an English church:

King Charles' green man from his coronation invitation (illus. Andrew Jamieson)

Disgorging head from a Devonian church. I do NOT like the teeth. (image via DevonChurchLand)

I could fill this page with examples like the above, but I would much rather share my own take on the motif.

Behold, my foliate heads!

This head was loosely inspired by nettles, but mostly just grew from my brain without much pondering. I am really enjoying these shadowy backgrounds as an element in my work at the moment! I wanted to capture the feel of a wood bustling with life, even while our (androgynous) green figure sleeps.

Rowan disgorging head - I will always sneak rowans into my work - IYKYK

Blackberry - I think this one is my favourite. I love how the eyes turned out, and that its an unexpected plant for the motif.

Good old oak, and I chose to give him the friendly, pub sign expression, while tying him back into the woods with the shadow border. Fun!

These faces were fun to make a pattern from! You can see the strong influence of my fave Byzantine guy in there.

Finally, my Sir Gawain and the Green Knight triptych, steeped in details and references that probably only bring me joy! A thumbnail robs it of its glory!

I had so much fun with this project and I am happy to have it out in the wild. Wishing for a Green Man book project one day!

For a great look at the folklore of the Green Man, I recommend Lauren of Lune Letters here on Substack, for her write up and the accompanying video.

Thanks for reading!

Anna