Art Class

I’m feeling a bit under the weather today. Not sick exactly, but not so great either. I’m hoping it’s an early indication that I might be pregnant, but it could simply be the fact that I’ve just spent a number of hours bent over a very detail and finicky watercolor painting. Still, I’m hoping it’s the former. I know that most women don’t experience any symptoms until about the same time that they miss a period, but there are others who just "feel" pregnant right away. So, fingers crossed.

Like I said, I just spent quite a lot of time crouched over my sketchbook, and I’m pretty please with the results, so I thought I’d share them here. The first is Daine, the heroine of one of my favorite series, Tamora Pierce’s "Immortals Quartet." Also featured is Cloud, her faithful, if slightly cantankerous pony. I would say Daine is about 17 or 18 in this picture, and the look on her face makes me think that she’s dreaming about Numair, her friend, teacher, and lover.

This next picture is rather Burton-esque. Very different from a daydreaming teenager, although not much different, if you think about it. Dark though the image is, she too is a lovelorn teenager, although her story doesn’t have quite the same happy ending as Daine’s. Right now she is gazing into the river, thinking about the man she loves and how he’s treated her. Recognize the imagery? The willow, the river, the crown of flowers, the violets?

I’ve been having a lot of fun lately experimenting with colors and shading. In a tanner complexion like Daine’s (I swear it’s darker in the actual painting), purple makes great shadows. On fair skin, blue is better. I also used purple as a shadow for the blonde hair. I think it helped keep the overall color light without sacrificing too much depth. And despite the heavy detail and the dark, muted colors, I really enjoyed this one. I think I’ll have to do more Burton-style figures. Perhaps I’ll do a whole series of Shakespearean tragic heroines. It’s a fun style.

Anyway, I’m enjoying a day full of Law & Order: SVU re-runs and some cooler temperatures. Yesterday was wicked hot. Alan wants to go for a bike ride later, but I’m not particularly keen on the idea. No matter which direction we go we’ll end up having to go uphill to get home, which kind of sucks. Also, I’m not feeling so hot.

I’m thinking about starting a blog. Yes, that’s essentially what this is, but I feel like I need some way of reaching a larger audience in a less personal way. I want to share my experiences as an Army wife, as a person with bipolar disorder who is going off medication in order to become a mom. Trials, tribulations, triumphs, that sort of thing. Like I said, a little less personal and more helpful. To share what I’m going through in an effort to help others. Anyway, it’s just a thought, but I’ve been turning it over in my mind for the last week or so. Who knows, maybe I could get a real following.

I think now, though, it’s time for lunch.

~Liz