Talent Valerhon

Thor and Sif

One of the more interesting Norse gods are Thor, the god of storms and combat, and his beautiful wife Sif whose golden hair is legendary. Jealous of Thor, or maybe just in the mood to piss him off, Loki the trickster god decides to cut off all of Sif's hair. Thor, when he sees his shorn wife, freaks out. He tracks down Loki - no easy task since Loki's a shapechanger. Thor threatens to break both of Loki's kneecaps and worse, but Loki talks his way out of it, promising he'll make things right.

Loki goes down below the earth where theSons of Ivaldi live. Small, dwarf beings covered with gems and shadows. At Loki's request, they begin to fashion the most beautiful headdress for Sif, on which there are thousands of fine hairs made of magically crafted gold. One this wig is finished, it's presented to Sif. Further, the Ivaldi forge other marvels to bribe the other gods - A spear, Gugnir, which does not miss its mark, given to Odin. Skidbladnir, a wondrous ship that could sail through any weather, and folded up neatly in the god Freyr's pocket.

In this painting, Sif and Thor sit in nuptual bliss, her new hair of white gold spilling down her shoulder. Thor has a tankard of mead made with blood and his hammer Mjolnir sits at his feet. Sif wears only pieces of her armor while her icey sheld reflects strange reflections and her dragon-handled sword leans against the couch.

Underneath the lovers is the skin of a goat. They have already feasted on its flesh. In the morning, Thor will strike this skin with his magical hammer and the goat will spring back to life. It will be hitched to his chariot.

[Photo]
In the background outside the abandoned abbey window, the lands of midgard (middle earth) are ablaze in autumn gold while the mountains of Asgard. home of their fellow gods, rise into the heavens.

Thor is often portrayed as red-haired, but I went for a darker contrast to the silvery hair of Sif. I used one of my favorite palettes to give a golden feeling to the work.

This piece is a collaboration between myself and Hugh Plummer and his girlfriend Erika V.