superhiki:

Wanted to do a painterly illustration of Armand from Vampire Chronicles.
I think the scene from his mortal days where he’s whipped and then… the stuff that happens… has all these unexplored layers.

Regret, reparations, the mixing of pleasure and pain and the guilt of seeing yourself as a victim- whether you see pain in your life as fate. Anyway, I love Armand’s character and his outbursts have always been fascinating! 

I’d like to imagine that this scene is a vision he’s given himself. Going back to Venice and destroying it while his backside stings from lashes and the blood chills as it trickles downwards. A sheepish curl of his hand in his hair. The expression we cannot see. The hand clenching the beloved color of his master, maker, lover, etc.

BEAUTIFUL. Beautiful in the way that it’s a very delicate subject and I feel like @superhiki​ captured it with such tenderness and dignity… as @gothiccharmschool​ put it, re: Crimson Peak: “as my definition of goth/gothic is looking for “beauty and wonder in dark or unsettling places”.” (X) and this is an example of that for me *applauds*