my funky panda

TITLE: funky panda. prints available in my etsy shop.

remember last week when i showed you my in-progress birdie painting? well, this funky panda started out as that same bird. i was in this rhythm of being inspired by sparrows and their lightness. the way they always seem to be playing around together in my backyard.

and somehow the birdie got these bear ears and i knew i needed it to be a panda. at first, most of his face was black, but something didn't seem right. as i played with the background, adding more texture and color (going for that asymmetrical background look i told you about), i painted in the black around his eyes. it took at least three tries to get them right. and each time, as i let the paint dry, i added more detail with oil pastels to the background.

then finally, i went ahead and painted his entire head white and walked away. when i came back to the painting, i took a different approach and worked in  a lot of pastel to give him a softer look. in the meantime, my blue in pen exploded all over the place, so i went ahead and painted his green eyes, then mirrored the color in the ruffle around his neck and in a few dots throughout the background.

to finish off my funky panda, i figured he needed a bit of silver glitter. at first i thought he was about trust and being pensive about finding out what lies ahead. but now, i think he's really just all about playing, having fun in our lives and being a bit of a FUNKY PANDA!

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I'm super excited about some new goal-reaching NEWS I can't wait to share with you later this week! And to celebrate, I'm having a little GIVEAWAY for a print of your choice! I was fortunate enough to connect with the lovely Jenny Meyers who is featuring my artwork on her blog The Swede Records! Head over there to enter right here!