How fragile is the heart

Yes! I finished my painting. For a long time it looked like it wasn't going to happen. I struggled immensely with some small details that I normally have no trouble with at all. And when school was out, it wasn't ready. But I picked the kids up and then just continued until I was satisfied. Man, that feels good! On to the next one now ;-)

I'll show you all the in-progress shots from the very beginning.

This is how it all started: a canvas that I used for my left-over paint (I left some foambrushes in water, and was amazed my how much colour was still in there. It gave a nice watercolour-kind-of-effect):

More leftover paint from the next paintings session:

Yummy colours! I really liked it at this point ....

Then I started the dripping process:

And then I went overboard big time with my whites and blacks ....

UGH! Where are all my lovely colours ...?

Get some colour on there fast! Where would I be without my drips and my spray-inks ....

starting to make some random marks

Painting around the marks and looking for figures to jump out at me

Saw several figures on there, not sure which ones to go with yet

Yes, definitely want to go with the figure in the front center. And of course the bird leaning over her ....

I decided to put a tree in there, and I must say I really like it. Expect lots more trees in my next paintings ... ;-)

Working out the top figure, still not sure about the head next to the tree (can you see the eyes?)

Bit too dark for my liking, so out comes the spray ink. Oops, pretty yellow everywhere ...

Decided that I didn't want another figure on there, so I painted a bird instead.

This is where I got to last week:

Starting to work on the details

And no matter what I tried, I couldn't get the bottom figure to look at me ....

Went over the eyes several times, but she refused to look at me. So in the end I just left her there, and worked on the rest of the painting. But it kept bothering me. I thought she looked like some kind of drugged-out addict, and I didn't like it ....

I didn't mind that the other one didn't look at me. But the bottom one HAD to!

So I just kept working on it, got the kids out of school, and started again ....

And in the end, YES!, she finally made contact! Phew! 

This is the finished painting:

I'm glad I kept working on it. I can't finish a painting when something keeps bothering me. And it was definitely her eyes that were bothering me.

I called this painting "How fragile is the heart", because both figures look a bit melancholic and sad, despite being surrounded by beautiful colours and birds. That's just the way life is, sometimes you're high up in the sky and feel as if you can tackle the whole world, and just as easily you come crashing down to the ground and have trouble getting up again. Here's a quote from Neil Gaiman that fits this painting perfectly I think: "There are so many fragile things, after all. People break so easily, and so do dreams and hearts".  

I did a discovery with this painting. When I was making the random marks, I used those little plastic bottles with a very small hole on top. I mixed some acrylics with water and filled them up, and then squeezed the paint out of it to make the marks.

And now they make a really nice texture on the canvas, despite the paint being mixed with water, it was still thick enough to be a bit 3D. It gives a lovely effect. Look:

I just used it to get some marks on there, and now I have added texture without even trying! I love it when unexpected things like that happen! 

Okay, this post is getting a bit long. Just a quick heads-up on my big Etsy-promotion-idea. Since I forgot that April is also Easter-school-holidays, and we might be going away for a few days, which means I would have to close my shop, I decided to postpone it to the month of May. Somewhere next week, I'll put up a separate page on this blog, with a list where you can link your Etsy-shop. The list will be open for signing up for the whole month of April. And then in May, everyone on the list will be promoting 4 or 5 shops on her/his blog/Facebook/Twitter, and will in turn be promoted on 4 or 5 blogs. 

So this is your chance if you have been neglecting your Etsy-shop. Plenty of time to dust it off again and try to get some new visitors there. And of course everyone else (with a shiny sparkling non-neglected shop) who would like to get some promotion is welcome to participate. I'll try to write a decent explanation next week ;-)

I'm linking this, as always, to Paint Party Friday. Hop on over there to look at all the other artists!

Thanks so much for visiting me! Hope you're having a wonderful Friday, and that your weekend will be filled with lots of fun, warmth, love and creativity! ♥ ♥ ♥