First Impressions

I first came across Luis Royo's works when I was searching for fantasy pictures online. At first, I was a little scandalized by his pictures of scantily clad women traipsing around with weapons, but when I got past that, I recognized how exquisitely drawn the artwork was, and how powerful the poses and colors were. Curious, I wandered through an exhaustive gallery a fan had posted and came across "The Howls of Silence".

The first time I saw "The Howls of Silence", it didn't have a title, and so I thought the woman warrior depicted was being attacked by a myriad of demons. I noted that she had five swords sheathed and one sword out, and I wondered why she wasn't kicking demon booty. Then I saw what I interpreted as an incense censer at the right of the image, and I thought perhaps she had summoned the demons to help her prepare for a battle.

After I had seen the title, I was immediately drawn into the painting. It was so powerful! Has silence ever howled at you? It's definitely howled at me. I have a fear of public performance and my mother used to have to forcibly drag me to my piano recitals, and the silence of the recital hall would scream at me as I prepared to play. When I put the painting and the title together and saw what the artist wanted me to see, I felt like he was drawing what I have experienced, minus the swords and the incense and the drapery.

All pictures copyrighted by Luis Royo.

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws