Sanding My Painting

Hi all y’all,

I am a little in the “is Mardi Gras over already?” and “really, 2 months until Jazz Fest?” slump. It is like when you  are a child and you are first able to realize that on December 25th, Christmas is 364 days away.

It also feels like a time of introspection and I am not as excited to put myself out in the world right now. It would be perfect if someone wanted to stop by my house and buy art.

I am just going to sit tight and wait until the ebb of life turns to flow.

Today, I am sharing the steps of my most recent painting. I was going to blog when it was completely done, but the feathers are taking a while.

Step one: adding a little color. Spraying it with water and blending. I love this part where I set my intentions for the art.

Next, I textured it with gel medium and scraped it with a credit card. I wanted to make some raised squares like an Indian blanket.

I liked this part of the background, so I saved it for his heart area. It looks like dreaming and passion.

I used my fingers and thick white paint to make the war paint.

I made feathers with gel medium and painted them many, many times… still unhappy with how they looked. My genius sister suggested I sand the feathers to blend them into the background and make them feathery thin.

I wrote the title with my finger and thick white paint.

I added a close-up of his eyebrow because I love it.

This is a boy dreaming of being a Mardi Gras Indian Chief one day.

My husband, David, is marching on Saint Joseph’s Day in the French Quarter with the Italian American Marching Club. Since I will be in the Quarter on St. Joseph’s Day, I will have another chance to see a Big Chief.

One more thing… I am really hoping two women look like the couple that I painted entitled “Justice” (even a bit). If so, please send me a photo at nancy@gatorgirlart.com. I will send you a super nice print.

lovingly yours,

Gator Girl