Good Morning!
When I wrote in my profile that I am living, working and thriving in New Orleans, I am.
I have been painting for Raven Wisdom Studio in Chico. That is my sister’s place. I kept putting Raven aside and working on it little by little. When I started looking at each area of the painting. One of my favorite parts of the painting didn’t please me any more. It looked too dark. Raven’s can be a little dark, themselves, and I didn’t want to portray that. Also, it was lacking whimsy, which I really like.
Today, I could feel the excitement of creating pumping through my veins. I ripped up paper and painted without even a sip of my coffee.
Right now the frame is drying. I don’t love framing, because I am not confident with it yet, or competent. I am too impatient to wait for help so I just push ahead. I am liking this frame.
After I cut the old wood, I scrub it with soap and water. I love old, but don’t think dirty is good in a house.
This was super fun. I painted the heart, filled it with love, turned it upside-down and sprayed it with water. When I turned it over it looked like flames.
I left the wood this color. It looks like old houses I remember fondly. The frame is going to have a shelf to hold Raven’s favorite trinkets.
I painted Raven with a lot of water and rolled the canvas with a roll of paper towels. I learned this technique from Effy Wild. It left the outline dark, and picked up the paint in the middle. Nice effect.
I painted Raven bigger, to be more of the focal point. Along his back is part of a Rumi quote, “be the soul of that place”.
I tried a new technique. I painted black, sparkly embossing powder mixed with acrylic varnish and melted it with a heat gun. It made a nice, black texture. You can see where I added it on the blackest parts of Raven.
The nest is made with corrugated cardboard that my sister insisted I needed to pack when I moved to New Orleans, lichen from the Lake of the Woods, Oregon (our favorite place), a red thread for the sisterhood, a fortune about friendship, and a flaming heart from Mexico.
There are other things making up the nest, like sheet music and journal paper. I added gold, brown, red and black paint for depth and mystery.
I am so sorry that the words do not stay put when I hit “publish”. I will keep working on this.
Thank you for reading about my process. Painting is pretty solitary business if you don’t count spirits chiming in. I appreciate the togetherness of my on-line family.
Where are your thriving in your life? What makes you lose track of time? Where do you feel your heart expand? I would love to hear.
Lovingly,
Gator Girl
Gator Girl Art 