My painted interpretation of a large quilt my grandma made and stitched by hand decades ago using upcycled shirts. It’s gotten a lot of use and is showing the wear and tear that a well loved quilt will show on a long enough timeline. Still, I can’t bring myself to put it away for long. While a piece of me thinks I should keep it safe and preserved, my grandma is a practical woman that likes knowing something she made is getting good use. A sentiment I can appreciate. And so, maybe I can extend it’s life through watercolor.
Once again playing with shapes, colours, marks, and loads of squiggly, smudgy ink lines. No pressure. Just trying to get back into splashing around with paint and seeing what emerges.
I made a mess! And it makes me happy! Because I finally 'did' something after what seems like a too-long period of very little art. This is a 'no pressure' piece, playing with shapes, colours, just making marks, doodles, and just allowing things to emerge. Brilliantly therapeutic.
Impalla, Wart Hog and Topi is a strange painting of a young doll like female puppet head with large intimidating eyes. The scary doll head puppet looks like a frozen predator. Her expression almost ferrel but still oddly innocent at the same time. I chose the vintage storybook background based on the mottled rich tones of the paper itself and the fact that the title refers to prey and predators in Africa. It is an excerpt from an old African adventure story. I love the arresting expression and bright colours of this painting. She has great stopping power and evokes all kinds of emotions.
Doodling will give you ideas for projects that you didn't expect. The characters for my book, Flight of the Silk, came from sketches. This picture is one illustration for the book.
