Pleiades Sisters: a portrait

Pleiades Sisters, a drawing by jude cowell (c) 2008.

Yes, it's true that Secret Moon Art is not usually where I publish figure studies unless they have starry connections.

So here's a photo of the Pleiades, the most auspicious and identifiable Taurean star cluster of all, the mythology of which appears in many cultures as a hen with chicks, a flock of doves, and for my drawing purposes, The Seven Sisters.

Which is which? You decide: it's Sterope, Merope, Electra, Maia, Taygete, Celaeno, and Alcyone, the daughters of Atlas and Pleione, as represented in whimsical human form by your artist of the evening, Jude Cowell.

And tonight is Earth Hour from 8:00 to 9:00 pm, if it hasn't come to your time zone already...it will be a good chance to view the stars without the usual light polution and save some wattage simultaneously!