Friday, August 19, 2016

Looking Up

Having hit a bit of a painter's block, I spent a stupid amount of time looking through pictures to find something, anything that would really inspire me. I finally found this photo by Michelle Lykokapis that she'd put on the Photos for Artists page for artists to use for free. It's such a cool site and so supportive! And it managed to snap me out of my funk! I loved the perspective and then had fun magnifying the little bits of color into a wider spectrum.
 It was a challenge to see more than was there but it was a fun challenge - not like that tower of laundry trying to catch my eye. 
After I'd finished the tree, I had a big dilemma because I really liked it and didn't want to ruin it by messing up the sky. The trunk said the sky should be dark so it's lights would pop, but the darkish leaves wanted it to be light so that they would get to shine. My original plan had been to make the sky into kind of a stained-glass window with each section being a different color, separated by the branches and leaves. But I was no longer certain it would work. Thankfully, my husband encouraged me to go for it so I did! 
And I love it! The yellow and light purple areas were a real risk but I knew they'd help bring the color from the tree around to create repetition and balance. The risk paid off!

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