Gaia's Rage

The illustration for Gaia's Rage was one of those rare instances where after reading the poem I immediately knew what I wanted to do, and thankfully the author was on board! 
The poem references the constellation Ophiuchus. This constellation depicts a man holding a snake and is often associated with the Greek healer Aesculapius. To bring the image in line with the poem I proposed the idea of the snake having overpowered the man. From there the questions became purely design focused. 
The author requested Nike high-tops and a horned serpent, both of which are incredibly detailed objects. To bring the focus on the snake I chose to make the high-tops more shape focused and the snake more detailed. To make the grass more interesting but keep it a mid-tone I used gouache and heavily watered down ink.