In the studio again!

I'm going to fess up to being a copy cat. I'm not ashamed of it. Not in the least. I blame Kim Attwooll. It's her fault for making such an awesome painting, one I've envied for several years now. I've tried for some time to locate more of her work, but I only come up with a few decent links. They are here, here, here and here. I want to give her full credit for being the inspiration for what I'm working on right now.

Honestly, I consider myself fortunate that I'm able to be a copy cat 'cause I get to do this ...

Background is started ...

I hope it will look sort of like this when I'm done ...

It was sparked by this image ...

Now, her original painting appears to be watercolor and I'm working in acrylic. Mine is also lots bigger. 24" x 48" to be exact. It's a 1.5" deep gallery wrapped canvas, too.

I love the colors of Kim's painting. Those vibrant oranges and yellows, the intense reds, the pop of aqua just get me. The image is both delicate and passionately alive with color. Of course, the question is why would I not reproduce it just as it is? Well, it's about home decorating and neon orange not being a color that really 'goes' in the house. "Stick out like a sore thumb" is the phrase that comes to mind, particularly since the painting I'm doing will be hanging in my dining room. Gonna' pretty much be the first thing someone sees when they walk in the back door.

The decorating in the house is about calm, quiet, and zen. Day-glow yellow isn't really all that zen-like. The changes I'm making to the work keeps some of that pop of color - the aqua - but is more water than fire. Softer, muted and relaxed. I'm working with the mental and emotional approach of how it really feels to me to sit beside a pond. I love water. Yes, I'm a fire-bug. Love me some fire! Yet water, and my personal feelings surrounding it, are the theme for home decor.

The outside world is a crazy, frenetic, constantly moving place. I want to live in a space which feels and expresses the total opposite of that external chaos. Maybe it's where I am in my head right now. It's where I've been striving to be for a long time and have let too much of the world leak in. This painting is the beginning of putting the world back outside the door where it belongs.

Namaste', y'all ...