The Ever Changing Idea...

Hey guys!

So I just completed a painting titled "SheTakes Flight On A Loveless Zephyr" which I am extremely relieved to be done with. I'm absolutely thrilled with the way that it turned out, but this piece really tested my patience and challenged my creativity during the process.

She Takes Flight On A Loveless Zephyr - 20x20 acrylic on wood 2011

More often than not I plan out my paintings down to the last detail in sketch form before I even draw it on a wood panel. This helps me cut down on changes made and keeps the drawing nice and clean so it's ready for color. I started this piece the exact same way, however she had different plans in mind on how she would eventually end up.

Once I got her drawn out on the wood panel I felt like there was something missing. I wanted her to have more elements of flight and surrealism so I added the wings to her hair and gave the hummingbird a little military type jacket.

As I work on a drawing for a painting I usually have a color scheme in mind so that it takes out a lot of the guess work once I finally begin to paint. I originally had cooler tones in mind for this piece but once again she had different plans in mind as warmer tones took over.

I started having difficulty with the wings behind her neck. I wanted them to have a mechanical feel to them but also wanted them to be uniform with the colors of the wings in her hair. There was a dynamic that was not happening with this idea so I decided to make them black for a nice contrast.

I really liked this idea as I had originally planned the background on this piece to be solid white. Yet again, she had different plans for this too. The white just wasn't doing it for me, so I decided to go for the opposite effect and black it out. Of course this meant the wings would get lost in the background so I painted them gold and finally called the piece finished!

At the end of it all I'm in love with this piece. The struggles and changes only make me appreciate it that much more. It's all part of the learning and growing process. She really helped me to not be so rigid and to give in to the creative process a bit more. Sometimes an idea can be perfect from the start and other times in has to be given time to evolve. And with this lesson learned it's time to move on to the next painting!

Thanks for stopping by!