inspiration from tim's sally

TITLE: CLEAR SKIES REST OVER MY HEART.  
Original and Prints in various sizes available in my etsy shop.

i so wish i had a few in progress shots of this snowy white owl. i've been trying for some time to paint an owl that flows in and out of its background. there's just something in me that wants to be expressed, and for some reason having no clear outline, no distinct edges, just flowing into the surroundings is exactly what i was going for. but for a while i didn't know how to create it. 

 TITLE: BURROW. by Tim's Sally

i had seen this gorgeous painting by the lovely and oh so talented mindy lacefield (tim's sally) and i just could not get it out of my head. i just adore the simple color palette and the way the owl is there, but not quite there. like it would be if you happened to catch it in a snowy woods. that was something i wished to capture in my paintings.

 TITLE: REFLECTION. by Tim's Sally

along with the beauty, calm and inner reflection i felt from Mindy's painting Reflection. i wanted to capture the feeling i felt just looking at it.

since i am a huge believer in following those things that catch you eye, i tried and tried to capture the things i loved about these two paintings in my own work. i feel like whenever i'm drawn to something new, it's a clue of something in me that's trying to get out, yet i don't know just how to express it. 

after being inspired by mindy's paintings i found all sorts of snowy owl photos and put them up around my studio. but then i lost the feeling of me behind what i was creating. so the photos all came down and i brought out some of my newer owl paintings and used them for inspiration. things still weren't going in a happy direction. 

TITLE: CLEAR SKIES REST OVER MY HEART.  
Original and Prints in various sizes available in my etsy shop.

but then last friday i did my photo shoot for CURB magazine (more on that in FRIDAY's post!). i moved my studio outside and brought out these owls i'd been working on. and i swear, as soon as the journalist and photographer left my backyard, it was as if something lifted and i FINALLY finished this painting!

and the part i really love most about her, is her glitter eye shadow. perhaps that's an homage to the bright blue, purple and green glitter eye shadow i wore just after college. the eye shadow that when i visited the markets in Ghana, Africa a group of children asked me, "why do you paint your eyes?" i also had long, glow-in-the dark extensions in my hair at that time. so the question really got me thinking about just what it was i was hiding from.  

and now, CLEAR SKIES REST OVER MY HEART!

i was trying to come up with a title that embodied the calm i feel looking at this painting. it's like whatever is going on around you, you can always find the calm that rests inside, over your heart. and then the full title finally came to me when i saw that the blue on her head resembled a clear sky and that  her face is shaped like a heart!

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ps. i'm loving all of the kindness you've shared in response to my HOME TOUR post! i just can't thank you enough! i've got a little giveaway for a PRINT OF YOUR CHOICE over on the beautiful liv's blog choosing beauty! please stop by and leave a comment. i'd be delighted for you to win!

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