I recently had the pleasure of working on a graphite and acrylic drawing that would be residing in a tiny little girl's room. When this little girl's mother contacted me about the drawing, she only had slight suggestions of what she'd like to be included in the final piece and gave me full artistic freedom on everything else. (perfect client!)
This allowed me to delve into memories of growing up and being a little girl myself ~ thinking about what images I remember that struck me and inspired imaginative journeys that took me far away from my own safe orange and green room in Anaheim, CA. My mom made sure her children's shelves were filled with books, and that those books would tell great and odd stories to light our imaginations afire. The most important details of a book in my opinion (even as young as I can remember) were the illustrations. We had so many books (most of which came from the local thrift stores) from so many eras that enriched my hungry mind with illustrations that I would sit and study for hours. Those pictures would transport me.
And so I wanted to be able to create something for this particular little girl that could possibly feed her head for years and years. Color is important in setting a mood for a piece - I didn't want to go with a pink because I think in a little girls world now days everything is your standard pink (which I love pink for little girls!!), but in this piece blueish~purpley~red gave it a little more of a serious feel, more adult than little kid. The hair is what I used to grab attention - something about long, long dark stringy hair - almost villainess, but not in a bad way! The branches in her hair, the castle coming out of her skirt and the circus in the background create the story (or mystery!) for this girl, and then the magic of making all of her favorite things dance around in the air was the final chapter in hopefully inspiring this little girl for a long time to come.
I must remember to think like a little kid more often than I think I already do. There's magic in a young mind. I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to spend some time thinking that way. :) Happy Friday people!!
Ok, now I can show you my painting for the Corey Helford Gallery's group show at Circa this Saturday (7pm-10)! This is "Forgive Me", acrylic on wood measuring 12"x12". I'm kinda getting obsessed with long stringy hair everywhere and I bet I'll be seeing a lot more of that obsession in the coming months as I prepare and begin my new series of paintings for my next solo show in Spring '14. I love the look of David Bowie...and normally I would have chickened out on incorporating that lightening bolt on her face - my thinking would have been that it distracts from the more serious tone I intended for this piece. But I want to be more courageous in my work - and by courageous I mean true to what/how I'm feeling at the moment. That's not too much to ask of myself, and this life isn't gonna go on forever. So. Lightening Bolt it up. 
Also, in keeping with lightening bolting it up, I had the pleasure of posing for one of my very favorite artists (and friends) Natalia Fabia for her 12"x12" painting (for the same show)! Here's her painting "Rainbow Brandi", oil on wood. 
I couldn't help but come away from seeing Natalia in action totally inspired. Her passion for life and painting and color and craziness is so contagious, i absolutely love her for it! Painting is such a solitary thing, it's easy to forget how much spending time with other artists can boost your own eagerness to work - even if it's just an afternoon taking pictures. So come get inspired - Saturday from 7pm-10pm at Circa in Culver City!!
