Maud (again again)

Continuing on from earlier posts (see: 15th June 2008), this is another image depicting Maud de Braose at Painscastle, Powys in 1198. I wanted to show her being prepared for the siege & subsequent Battle of Painscastle, so here she is being armed. I think by not making the image a full-on representation of a woman in combat, and by hinting at that by showing her in preparation for it, it subtly raises the issue of a woman of that period being involved in a martial role, while still referencing the previous image of her as a mother through the inclusion of the same child figure. I like this one. Here's the pencil rough sketch I made first. I like this one too.

Thanks to fellow illustrator Sami for modelling for the armourer!