new painting: LIKE THE WIND + a SALE

TITLE: Like The Wind.
Original (SOLD! Thank you!) Prints available in my etsy shop.

(*there's a little bravery-inspired coupon for you at the end of this post!*)

i was all ready to share our 6 year wedding anniversary celebration with you...when brian surprised be with an introductory flight lesson...and i flew a plane!. but i couldn't resist showing you this new painting!  

it's been a bit chilly, but sunny, and i so wanted to paint outside last weekend! i've been wanted to try out some new techniques, brushes and paints. i also just watched a documentary on van gogh where i was inspired by his high horizon lines, and wanted to play with that too!

this girl started with a high horizon line, but it just didn't stick. 

i got a bit of her whimsical character filled in with pastel initially. then i knew where her face would be... 

while i loved the bits underneath that i kept showing through, i wasn't happy with the sad eyes and dusty blue. it just didn't represent what i was really feeling, but was definitely a layer that had to be and became part of this girl's story. she reminded me of a pea in a pod...

going with the van gogh inspiration, i went for a bright yellow to cover the blue in the background, got rid of that high horizon line and added some of my favorite birch trees...and then this girl started to grow!

from there, it was the ground that kept fooling me. i wasn't sure just how this girl was sitting. at first, she carried herself at the horizon line. and i didn't like that because it seemed she needed her own ground and to stand out more, yet i still wanted her to be part of her surroundings.

a bit of black india ink and a few more layers of acrylic, left me with a ground i finally liked. and i love how the pea pod became her wing.

i've gotten in the habit of writing the story of each painting on the back ... 

TITLE: Like The Wind.
Original (SOLD! Thank you!) Prints available in my etsy shop.

She sits and grows deep roots, like the birch trees. She blends in, but flows with her surroundings, knowing that in accepting what's around her, everything else falls right into place. Just be LIKE THE WIND.

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*AND...since i flew a plane and am still reveling in all of the beauty and confidence found being in the air...

i'm celebrating bravery and remembering all of those dreams that seem impossible with a sale in my etsy shop! 

10% off everything in my online shop TODAY ONLY (that includes spots in my HOW TO PAINT AN OWL e-course: Autumn 2011, which starts October 24th...when purchased through my shop). 

Enter the promo code: BRAVE at checkout! Good until 11:59 pm EST, Monday October 3, 2011.

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be brave! be bold! and make all of your dreams come true!

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ps. stay tuned for some really fabulous anniversary celebration photos on wednesday and friday! in addition to my intro flight lesson, brian had a lot of other phenomenal surprises in store! kind of amazing we've been married for 6 years!

pps. registration is now open for the Life Book Workshop, a whole year of inspirational art making!

thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway! congratulations to christi for leaving the winning comment!