A new painting

Lets see, what I have been spending my time on…
I just finished my painting Ships in Bluebird Cages

I am so completely happy with it. It is much larger for me (16″ by 20″) and I am working at a slower pace. I have been longing to paint more detailed scenes as of late and this will be the first of many. Just look at these little keys dangling from the bird cages!

The painting is going to be part of a series called Something is Quite Not Right, an idea that was completely subconscious when I began. To me it deals with the innocence, simplicity and whimsy of childhood (little toy boats) and the complexities of our enviroment. Should the bewildered girl remove the ships from the cages and put the birds back in? Things still would not be right if the bluebirds were in the cages hanging from the trees. It’s sort of a catch 22 situation. I say she set the ships free AND leave the birds out of the cages! But how will she get out of her little boat thats sailing so rapidly down the stream? Her saving grace is the bluebird she holds. It really is the little things in life that bring the most happiness.

some details below…

I used snippets of antiqued art papers shaped as soft flowering hills in the forground. The final painting turned out to be far less cluttered than the initial sketch but I am still using elements from that in the next painting, which I am off to work on right now!

A print is available in my shop