Flying Girl Where the Heart Goes, or Strings

Flying Girl Where the Heart Goes, or Strings
Golden Fluid Acrylics, Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pens, Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils

This comes from a few different places. First I saw this piece by Elsita, then I was sitting in a room with my kids running in and out of the rooms of the house, and it almost felt as if little pieces of me were running with them, my attention, my mind, my sanity, my heart. Then, the Illustration Friday prompt ended up being "strings" and I was amazed, because I had already been planning this and the connection was immediate. Maybe I shouldn't be amazed, There has been an awful lot of synchronicity going on in cyberspace lately. Perhaps everyone is dealing with a lot of the same things, or a lot of the same ideas. I don't know, but I see connections all over the place. Maybe that goes to this painting, too. The way our subconscious mind takes in information from all over, and perhaps the way we also send out our signals without knowing we are.

Although the image of this painting was clear in my mind, the execution of the painting was, shall we say, frustrating. First of all, doing these paintings is beginning to feel like work. When you live up to a commitment that you make, no longer going along according to whim or inspiration, it gets hard sometimes. And yet, if you live by your word, you have to do it anyway.

It's kind of like love. No one hates that first blush of love when all is in accordance and the attraction runs high, just like art and inspiration. It's when that other person starts blowing their nose, or sits around watching tv gorging on chips or you really just want to be left alone that love starts to get difficult. It's when it love/art feels like a constraint that you are getting into the real meat of it.

So I sat down not wanting to paint, and did it anyway. There are probably half a dozen layers of paint on that background there. Too dark, too light, too yellow, too contrasty. Blegh. I fussed and fussed and fussed and hated it. I truly thought it would not work out. I gave up on finding perfection with the columns/walls/floors and just stuck in some intriguing windows. That was interesting. Then I put in FG. Then I decided to dress her up and make her more figurative. She's wearing heels, even. But when I painted in the hair, and had the idea to give her that Veronica Lake swoop that the whole painting just fell into place.

It's so strange that such a small detail would make it work. Then I put in the vines and worked on some details and that was it.

To tell the truth, I am still a little uncomfortable with it. Something about the colors doesn't seem all the way there, but there is also something that I really like about it. So I'm going with the good, and letting go of the not so good and letting the work stand as it may. Like love.

Hey. I bet you didn't know that I didn't MEAN to make all the references to love, even though it's FG Where the Heart Goes. That was a total coincidence. Well, not a coincidence, I'm sure. The mind is a powerful force, especially when you're not really paying attention to what it is doing. It sneaks around.

Maybe part of the reason why it is able to do that is because I am busy thinking about so much. All the things I have to do. Conversations I need to have. Trips I have to make. Things the kids are doing or need to do or aren't doing. The future, the past, the present. The dishes and the cheerios. Maybe that's why FGs Heart goes in and out of so many different paths.

Maybe that is also why I drew this for The Big Draw.
Juggling. The Big Draw #10
Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen

Do you need me to explain? Sorry for the wonky picture, though. I wanted to make sure the little unicycling guy would be in there. I kept the scallop pattern from FG Goes In, but alternating color made it almost look as if it is a harlequin pattern. And notice that the different size pattern in figure and background keeps them from competing. It doesn't hurt that the figure pattern is a heavier line. It's the balance between dark/light, large/small, organic/geometric that keeps things from getting mushy and confusing. Also the blank page gives your eye somewhere to rest.

What do you think about drawing in blue. Fun, huh? Where did I see a drawing in blue yesterday? I've got to be better at marking these things down.

If there are wiggly lines in this drawing, it is because I literally had a little girl hanging off of my limbs. She probably would have liked it if I had thrown her up in the air and juggled her... but my back would decidedly not have liked it.

On a fun and happy note. I just received a lovely print by the lovely Mati Rose. It's my first win at a giveaway, ever. Very exciting. I feel my luck changing already, thanks to this Little Lucky Elephant. Thanks again Mati, a big hug and kiss from me (and the boy who tried to steal it for his own). I really adore it and can't stop staring at it. It's inspiring me to get my desk area together.