new painting in progress: wish upon a star!

TITLE: Wish Upon A Star. Original (SOLD). Prints available in my shop.

this little white owl is here to remind you that anytime, no matter where you are, all you need to do is look up into the sky and wish up on a star…all your dreams really do come true.

for this painting i had in mind that i wanted to use some of the new origami paper i had just picked up from the market. i loved this orange! especially the way it worked perfectly with the owl's nose.

but it took so many faces to get to this owl's character. at first he was just looking so bottled up and cold. i wanted a snowy white owl, but something beautiful and sweet, with a bit of realism to him. so i kept on covering him up and reshaping his head and the arch above his eyes... 

until finally i liked it!

i also had to put down loads of layers before the scene came up out of the paint. i tried quite a few colors and then lots of layers of spray painted stencils to try and discover something i could pull out and use in the background.

it wasn't until i found that lovely dark winter tree on the left that the entire piece fell into place.

then i just knew he was out in the snowy woods, staying warm and wishing upon the stars.

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*so of course i have lots to share with you about my time with oprah in chicago earlier this week...

** i've been busy getting ready for the autumn session of How To Paint An Owl and have a lot of amazing owls to share with you from students during my last class...GORGEOUS and so inspiring! i'll be posting those next week!