Flying Girl Yearns for the Sea, or Defy Convention, Gift and Kick Back

Flying Girl Yearns for the Sea, or Defy Convention
3/26/09
Golden Fluid Acrylics on paper, 7"x10"

I am not a normal girl. Or rather, I'm terribly normal, but I don't let that stop me. What's normal? It's just an imposed constraint that is defining who "everybody" is, what "everybody" does. Even in normalcy, we're all weird and strange and not like anyone else. We all have unusual dreams or odd quirks. Are brains take twisty turns or we laugh at things no one else thinks is funny.

And that's a good thing.

To tell you the truth, I'm getting a little bored with my normal constraints of Flying Girl. I know there is more to explore, but I feel like I've walked down those paths and I'm looking for new ones.

From my history, I've learned this boredom isn't a bad place to be. All it means is that it's time to branch out and try new things. Is there a new technique to try? A different medium? Would a little side project fulfill my need to do something different? Is there a theme that I haven't addressed before? Maybe the challenge is as simple as switching up the colors. I actually think that the color yellow is what started this whole flying girl kick in the first place. The Illustration Friday prompt was yellow, and I was not used to using this color. Flying Girl came out of it.

We can get very settled staying in normal. We can lose our fire curled up by the radiator with a nice cup of cocoa. It's comfortable... sure, but where are we getting with the cushions and blankets and bonbons by the tv? A little plush on our behinds, that's where.

So defy your normal. Step out into the unknown and uncomfortable, just a little. Try something new. Don't go for that tried and true color, but for the one you think is too bright, too garish. Try a different perspective in your story... the one you don't quite understand. Maybe the tale that comes out of it won't be your knock-it-out-of-the-park hurrah, but maybe you'll learn something new, maybe you'll get one step farther to where you really are supposed to be-- before you got so comfortable.

I've tried something a little new. Or rather, a little old. Going back to the sketching. Going back to the old pages that I tore out of my altered book I made years ago. Glad I saved them. Because when I was looking for something different, they showed up.

I did them yesterday and today, and they were kind of in conjunction with FG. That's why I'm posting them here. I like the dialogue they have with her.

Triptych (?)
"Gift" mixed media drawing on antique book page, mounted on Moleskine.
"Kick Back" mixed media drawing on antique book page, mounted on Moleskine.
FG Yearns for the Sea, or Defy Convention, acrylic on paper

The shoes were drawn before the FG, but completed with the paint leftover from the FG. I like the conjunction of the contemporary sneakers and jeans with the old timey dress and sailing ship. Plus, FG's not wearing shoes, but I am (in the picture, I mean). And then the leaves I drew today. They were a gift from the kids. They like collecting things and giving them to me. I was looking for something special to draw on the page that says "Godliness." What's more special than dried out, colored leaves your kids give you? Plus, they almost look like they are aloft on the breeze, drifting like FG. And really, is the real gift our freedom?

The other thing I like about this? Those moleskine pages the drawings are mounted on? From my old journal where I used to paint. And they are edged with the leavings of old FG paintings. It was just coincidence the paint splotches matched the sketch. But I loved the way they looked there. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with these. Sell as prints? Sell the originals? That would be scary for me.

What new thing can you try that might stretch your boundaries? Give it a try. I dare you.