To continue the conversation about the need to reinterpret imagery to respect intellectual property, I have intersected the vision drawn from my reading of the books with the imagery from the TV series in a way that connects with my audience but does not infringe on either a photographer or film maker to do so.
Applying the same principle to this painting, Craigh na Dun, I was challenged by an even greater dilemma. Although there are many stone sites dating back to the Druids in Scotland and Ireland, the exact stone circle we see in the film does not actually exist. There is a standing stone circle near to Culloden Battlefield called Clava Cairns, and the stone circle used in the TV series is said to be loosely based on it. You can, however, find dozens of photographs of Craigh na Dun as it is portrayed in the film – some quite dramatic and colorful and in various times of day or night. There again, I have seen some of the images and the TV series, but all of the images are photographs that in all probability were taken by film staff.
To comply with copyright here as well I needed to paint my interpretations of the writing in combination with the implied fictitious stone circle from the film. You won’t find this image with the mid-morning sun burning off the rolling fog in any photograph.
Kelly E. James 