Moving On.... to Yogatations

Come visit my active blog Yogatations to see what I am up to in my current Art Life. Great things are happening! See you there :)

Bird- Spirit Story Series: Follow The Heart

"Follow the Heart." 2009. 6"x6" Acrylic on Canvas.

A take off of the original "Following the Heart." I am working through the simplified design, continuously looking for a similar thought of process between the different styles. They are logically very different. The first is textured, colors are muted and forms are loosely painted. This version the colors are vivid, forms are rigid, and there is no texture at all. My goal with this series is to make them studies for larger canvas in a much more abstracted style. Sometimes, my ideas will start out like illustrations in my head, with images that are very common. My challenge is to make sense of these images and what they are trying to tell me.... what they expect to look like as a finished painting.

Here are some digital renderings of these paintings that I have made available as prints. I have added text, and they are just lovely simple decorations for the home.

Bird-Spirit Story Series: Following the Heart.

"Following the Heart". 2009. 6"x6". Acrylic on Canvas

Another link in the series: "The Bird-Spirit Community and their gifts to humanity."

{THE STORY}
Following the path of a what a heart wants can seem hard and useless at times. Uriel sees this path as the only reliable option. She knows her own heart will never let her down. So when her heart brought her to dark and twisted roads that were full of rocks and spiky cactus thorns, she kept the faith. In these dark areas her heart brought out a little flashlight (a silver mini magnum, to be exact) and showed her how UNscary and helpful these places were, they just needed a little light. Uriel knows her heart. And so, when she finds it sitting patiently waiting in front of her beak, she knows she will follow it to the ends of the earth for a new adventure.

{Uriel}
Uriel is a fire bird-spirit made from the ashes of lost dreams. She embodies the mysteries of life on earth and appears in our lives to show us the window when the door has been closed. Her purpose is not always clear to the human mind, but a purpose none the less.


This painting is part of an ongoing story series about the fictional Bird-Spirit Community (BSC). Each painting will be reworked in different styles, part of the process of getting to the final piece on a large canvas.

Good Karma

"Good Karma".2009. 6"x6". Acrylic on Canvas,

This is a new style of the previous "Good Karma" painting. I revised the style to simple shapes and color for a simple graphic effect. I wanted to take out the texture, simplify the shapes and brighten the colors. This style tends to make better prints, in my opinion, because of the clean edges and the bold colors help the images to pop on a wall.

I also wanted to make sure the story of the painting would stay the same, I feel I had success in that area. (To read the story see the post for December 27 2009.) I am going to continue to work on this series, and this painting will take a few more until it is ready for a big canvas. I am happy with this version of "Good Karma" . The image would do well blown up on a wall for a mural, or as is for a print on a nursery room wall. It would also be a fun addition for any room in the house to bring a splash of color and some positive energy.

Hope you all enjoy this version of "Good Karma", just one in the series of Bird-Spirit Story Paintings. Back to work for me....

"Good Karma" revised is not yet available for sale. Please check out the link to my etsy store for other items. Just click on the sidebar photos to view the store!

The Bird-Spirit Story Series

"Good Karma".2009. Acrylic on Canvas. 4"x4". $35.00.

{THE STORY}
Giving Back. It is important even in the smallest form of action. Uriel knows and understands this belief. Uriel acts on this belief whenever she gets a chance.

A single petal falls from a single flower. We do not know how the petal fell, we just know that it was lying there alone. She picks it up, she knows how important this single petal is to this single flower and vice-versa. She offers the petal back to its rightful owner. We do not know if the flower was grateful, or if the petal was pleased.(Although I am most certainly sure they were.) We only know that Uriel has walked away with a greater karmic understanding that she wanted to share with all of us.

{URIEL: THE FIRE BIRD-SPIRIT}
Uriel is a fire bird-spirit made from the ashes of lost human dreams. She exists to help bring these dreams back to life or offer a new one in its place. She embodies the mysteries of life on earth and appears in our lives to show us the window when the door has been closed. Her purpose is not always clear to the human mind, but a purpose none the less.


{ABOUT }
"Good Karma" is one of a series of small paintings about the fictional Bird-Spirit Community and the stories they give. The Bird-Spirit world and the characters within were created from a mixture of spiritual teachings, moral lessons, and some good old creativity.

This art is very special to me, as each character comes with their own story, their own adventure and their own personality they can share with us all. With each painting that I create I have found that I am taking part in something larger than myself. I realize with every completion I have become more of a storyteller for these little bird-spirits...The pen with which they can write their own messages. The best I can do is change the style or color to get the message through in a better way. Sometimes these little spirits give us advice or hope, or just a nice picture to look at and contemplate. As the artist, I hope for them to always bring some sort of joy or peace to the lives they touch.

"Good Karma" is available for purchase at etsy.com. Click the orange button on the right sidebar to view the store!