Oct 10, 2016

Harry Potter Art Journal: Dirigible Plums

While rereading the series I came across this quote in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows- “Dirigible Plums, so as to enhance the ability to accept the extraordinary.” This is the scene where the trio visits the Lovegood’s cottage and they are being shown a “replica” of Ravenclaw’s diadem. Mr. Lovegood has added all sort of odd enhancements to the diadem, including dirigible plums. The first time Harry meets Luna Lovegood she is described as wear dirigible plum earrings, which look like orange radishes.

When I read this quote I was instantly inspired. Luna Lovegood is one of my favorite characters. She marches to the beat of her own drum. She is confident in her personal beliefs. Yet she is an outcast. Other students mock her but she doesn’t let their negativity dim her light.

The Process

I began with using different shades of green to create the background. While that was drying I cut out some leaf shapes from some green paper and some plum shapes from orange paper. I played around with placement a bit to get an idea of where the piece was going. The leaves looked flat to me so I decided to paint them green to give them a bit more depth. When the leaves were dry I played around with placement again and glued the leaves down. I really liked the way the leaves naturally raised off of the background.

Next I placed and glued the dirigible plums and started shaping them. One of the joys of this journal is exploring and experimenting with different materials and media. I am a bit of an art supply hoarder and I have a set of watercolor pencils that I have probably used 3 times. I pulled those out and started shaping the plums. When I added water to blend the colors the cardstock was starting to bucking. I added a little more watercolor pencil detail but did not blend with water due to being afraid of ruining the paper.

I finished with some white paint to create the dirigible roots, and added the quote. I played around a bit with placement and liked it best right justified in the lower right corner. I love the way this spread came together. Don’t forget to add “dirigible plums, so as to enhance the ability to accept the extraordinary.”