transformation-from start to finish

TITLE: Transform. Prints available in my etsy shop.

this is sort of a funky painting for me. i've been experimenting with my old oil pastels and lots of texture in my backgrounds. and new characters seem to be coming out of it all. 

but of course, this ghostie of a girl didn't start out that way...

of course, she started out as an owl. and i was still into using my reds and deep blues like i mentioned with this WITH YOU I AM WARM owl painting.

but i wanted some new color.

and then i was trying to define those owl eyes like glasses.

and then i knew i didn't like all of that fuss around the head. so i filled it in with dark green and gave the body a bit of an update...making it look more human. i was in love with those lime green floatie things on the side though, so i decided to make them even bolder.

and here i wanted my character to be softer. so i got out my book of owls and the snowy white owl seemed to capture the mood i was going for. then since i've been so inspired to play with asymmetrical backgrounds, i went ahead and painted in the blue.

then the more human face came to me. i was really trying for an owl here, but this girl spoke to me. so i added in some origami paper as her dress and defined her even more.

i thought, "oh wait! she is an owl. she should have wings!"

but when i stepped away for a bit, i realized the only part of her that meant something to me was her face. and so i redefined her body and made her into a real girl (more than an owl anyways). here, i really enjoyed her calm inquisitive-ness. it's like something is waiting for her over there on that other side.

i went with that curiosity and mirrored the origami paper in her belly with some more within the green floaters. then i wanted to connect those two sides and added that white shooting star streak. to me, she's very other-worldly. and if you look closely, you'll see in the bottom right corner the word TRANSFORM. which seems quite appropriate given her TRANSFORMATION. 

wherever she is going, i know she'll get there. and it's going to be good!