The artwork that graces the cover of "Enter The Woodland Realm" is a painting titled "The Forest Stream" and was created around 1660. This naturalistic vision perfectly encapsulates the peaceful vibe of the opening track ("The Beckoning'). However, its cloudy skies seen to anticipate the metallic tempest Eveale unleashes throughout the rest of the album.
Eveale: In terms of Eveale’s inspiration and representation, we have a love of the natural world. The artwork we have chosen marks a representation to the entrance of The Woodland Realm, the fictional world in which much of the album is set.
How did the band discover the works of Dutch artist Jacob van Ruisdael and particularly, this piece?
Eveale: In terms of the artist, it is thought that this painting was created in around 1660. The artist, Jacob van Ruisdael, had a deep love of Scandinavian landscapes, and although likely painted in Amsterdam, this will have been a big inspiration for the scene depicted.
We knew from the start that we needed some kind of woodland scene, something that at first glance looked inviting, but also with an air of mystery and melancholy. When we started putting together the theme of the album, we didn’t have a budget for art. Eveale has a policy of absolutely zero AI used anywhere in our work, so we looked at the plethora of amazing paintings in the public domain via The Met Museum.
We spent hours poring over the various works of art depicting nature, forests and the like until we found “The Forest Stream”. An oil painting by renowned Dutch artist Jacob van Ruisdael from around 1660. It fit Eveale’s, “Woodland Realm” vibe perfectly, and we knew immediately that we wanted to use it for our album cover. Eva Darron, the artist who handled the design of the vinyl, CD, and cassette tapes, drew further inspiration from the piece in how she designed each of the physical formats for the album, both in terms of the color palette used as well as other nature-inspired ornamental touches.
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| The original painting "The Forest Stream." |
Although this piece was crafted around 1660, its look and mood seem to have a lot in common with the landscapes Romantic artists painted centuries later.
Eveale: The original painting is oil on canvas. It is thought that van Ruisdael used a technique of applying heavier paint than similar artists who had come before him. The realism of the foliage and trees that he was able to produce with this technique was considered unprecedented at the time and really helped his work stand out amongst a slew of other prominent Dutch artists.
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The band's logo also features naturalistic elements which enhances the ethereal elegance of the finished cover.
Eveale: The logo was one of the very first pieces of the puzzle. At the time, the plan for Eveale was for us to both remain anonymous, only crediting ourselves under the guises of Monarch Of The Hillside (MOTH) and North East Wizard Tyrant (NEWT). That being the case we needed a personality to our visuals. We reached out to one of our favorite logo artists at Moonroot, and they helped to bring our logo to life, complete with the Newt and Moth in prominent placement. We think it’s a very unique logo and we are delighted that it has come to represent our work.
"Enter The Woodland Realm" is available at:
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