Stepping Stones

Dear readers, never fear: Sisters of the Light is on it's way and is nearly finished for your viewing pleasure. We've had a little down time due to the holiday, but we're back in full swing now. Since we're so close to completion, it's necessary to step away and forget about it a little bit to see all of the flaws I might not have noticed with my face pressed up to it for so long. You can expect it finished next week.

In the meantime, here are two color and composition studies for a new piece, more young reader themed, still with a fantasy twist. Imagine a nature loving girl with super duper long hair, and there's this lily trotter type bird that leads her down a secret path in the woods to this more magical, phosphorescent, bio-luminescent section of the woods. But I think the lily trotter has dubious meanings behind why he's leading the girl... maybe she'll be trapped there, or there will be a lot of dangerous creatures to encounter, or maybe the bird needs her to get something it can't reach on it's own and the bird actually shouldn't have the thing.... I dunno! Those are the stories I make up in my head to stay inspired. I've decided I'm going with the top version, the bottom version I was still feeling out a lot of rough ideas in my head. So stay tuned for results on this piece too!

One last tidbit: I didn't have a reflective surface for my water when I was taking photo reference, and I thought and thought about what I could use. I finally remembered that in one of my first aid kits I had one of those silver, plastic heat blankets! So I just unfolded it and voila! Instant reflective surface that unfolds to about a 3 by 4 foot area, and folds back up into a 2" by 4" square. I have since moved the blanket from my first aid kit to the art supplies!