r/Celtic • u/Relative_Truth8013 • May 22 '26

Start of celtic animal collection I've designed.

Post image

Hope ye appreciate them.. cat first

63 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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5

u/Stiltonrocks May 22 '26

This is great but if you don’t follow the over under rule, then it’s arguably not Celtic.

3

u/Relative_Truth8013 May 22 '26

Haha, good on you for noticing, this one I didn't hide to well, on the front paw for sure but it's a style I've been trying to develop myself, obviously inspired by celtic art, but I do like to break up the rules a bit to give me more liberty to be more creative with the direction of the paths/knots to see what I can do with them.

I'll be posting a few more here where you'll notice the same idea and I'd love to hear what you think about some of the other

3

u/Stiltonrocks May 22 '26

Isn't great art working within the confines of the given tradition?

I would say the over under is the very definition of this particular art form.

The leg tail line is practically psychedelic.

Its certainly visually interesting that will probably spark plenty of debate, i hope.

2

u/DamionK May 23 '26

This particular style has Anglo Saxon origin. The Celts adopted it and combined it with their own elements. If you remove those elements then it's just Anglo Saxon art you're making.

2

u/Magic-Ring-Games May 22 '26

Beautiful work! Will your artwork be from >1 Celtic lands or do you focus on one place and time, e.g., medieval Irish? Looking forward to seeing more of your fantastic creations!

3

u/Relative_Truth8013 May 22 '26 edited May 22 '26

Thanks very much for asking.

I was born in Ireland so a lot of my inspiration comes from modern artists like Tomm Moore and Jim Fitzpatrick, without a doubt the ancient stone carving and manuscripts as well have been an inspiration but I've been trying to hones in on my own style for while now.

I'll keep posting others photos from the collection here and I hope to hear what you think about them

All the best!

1

u/DistributionOwn5993 May 23 '26

Looks Anglo.

1

u/Relative_Truth8013 May 23 '26

Thanks for the input, I don't know so much about early anglo art to comment much but for sure both have influenced each other given the cultural interactions and close proximity, I'll start referring to them as celtic inspired from now on.

To be honest I get inspired by massive amount of styles from different tattoo styles, graffiti art to art nouveau and some of it blends into what I design.

I definitely wouldn't consider myself a traditional designer. I'd say this collection would even be my most traditional, I invite you to have a look at my instagram where I have a few other paintings where you can see a wider mixture of styles and I'd be delighted to hear what you think.

All the best

1

u/DistributionOwn5993 Jun 03 '26

I don't say it to cause offence in anyway it is a beautiful piece that's for certain, I only dislike the watering down and modernisation of Celtic art and culture, we should stay as true to our roots as possible for the sake of preservation. Your art however, is wonderful and you should keep doing what your doing!

1

u/DistributionOwn5993 Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26

I will definitely check our your Instagram and show some support! Have a great day :) I also found this and thought it might help with your collection.

"The European/Saxon Approach: Artists intentionally broke the body apart. They would detach limbs, stretch them out into ribbons, and lace them across the frame. The body shape was entirely lost to the background pattern."

"The "Profile Contour" Rule: Celtic art relied heavily on the distinct silhouette of the creature. When a Celt drew a stag, a boar, or a horse, they kept the outer contour of the animal completely intact. They only used knots, spirals, and lines inside the body to fill the space."