Noajde and Snake

Finally finished! I used 20 layers of airbrush plus 5 different textures for this piece. The original idea was to have the snake and the wolf communicating via a flashing light. It kinda sorta came out that way. The effect is supposed to be solemn and slightly fearful. I don't know if I achieved it or not.

Anyway, about the subject matter. Noajde is the Saami word for a shaman. The Saami are a people indigenous to Lappland (a territory spanning northern Finland, Russia, Sweden, and part of Norway). They have an ethnographic relationship to Siberian tribes, but many of them are blonde-haired and blue-eyed. Anyway, part of Saami mythology is the white snake, a prophetic creature who spews magical stones out of its mouth by spinning in a circle. The stones are laden with "vaki," magical power. Here, the white snake is pictured as the shaman's helpmate, helping him to see the future. The wolf itself is nothing special. I just don't like drawing people.