Island: Night of the Flying Girl

The prompt for Illustration Friday was Island, and I immediately had a vision of those islands we find ourselves on, which isolate us from the rest of the world. Are they self imposed? Mostly I think. We have the tools to get off the metaphorical islands, if we would only take a look at the talents and blessings we have as our own.

This is another Flying Girl painting, although she is firmly planted in the earth this time. Maybe that's the talent I am talking about. She has the ability to fly, when she believes she does, and really, if she can fly, that distant island where there is company is not so far off after all.

This is another painting that took a really long time and a lot of layers to find it's heart. It started out in day time, and I tried three different shades of blue before finally settling on the scumbling of white over a darker blue. Then the sky went dark and just cried out for more white to unify the painting, so in the stars went. I like that the distant island with the skyscraper is shadowy. The tropical island also went through many incarnations, starting out more detailed and then getting a muted layer. I guess this painting wasn't about the details, but rather about the shapes and feeling. I am liking working with the layers, though. Somehow it feels more authentic when I really work the paints, rather than just lay down whatever color I have available. It's all about finding the right shade, even if I have to search it out or make it up.

I did this painting while watching a movie (Dan in Real Life) and feeling kinda crappy with some sort of burgeoning cold. I like to have a movie in the background when I am painting, sometimes. I think it might help me get my mind off of my doubts, kind of put me into a sort of trance, where I can just paint without worry. Almost like the way I used to doodle in meetings. The doodles would give me something to focus on while the meeting yammered on, and the meeting would take my mind off my own issues, letting my intuition fly a little.

Intuition. Faith. Doubt. Talent. Experimentation. Falling. Flying. Acceptance of who we are and trust that we are strong enough to survive and thrive no matter what occurs.

Flying girl does not always fly, as you can see, but she can. Tomorrow, maybe she will.