THE NEW PROJECT AND THE PUSHY ANGEL

For months now I have been thinking about a series of paintings I want to create that I have nicknamed in my mind – the great experiment. 

To be honest I don’t know why I have given this series that nickname, they are not in actual fact, as exciting as the name implies.

In my mind, a Great Experiment would be something much grander and a little risky, maybe without a certain outcome, but in reality, my great experiments will be much simpler… I guess only the outcome is unknown! 

Anyway, last week, I had set a goal of finishing sixty Guardian Wee Beasties before the super blue moon on Thursday, so for days I was working every minute on my small beasties, and after I miraculously finished them in time, I knew it was time for a beastie break.

If you have heard me talk about my beasties before, I will often say after finishing a collection, that I am never, NEVER, painting them again, until I wake up at 3 am in the morning with a new idea! After that marathon – I was feeling done for a long time!

So I pulled out three canvases to prep them for the great experiment. Normally when I prep, I pull out my papers, old books, schoolbooks with the girls’ work in them, and other ephemera I just can’t seem to part with, and use these as base layers before smooshing some paint over the top, however this time I was prepping them with a simple layer of gesso before I start painting.

I started spreading out the gesso, knowing this small canvas was for this painting, this mid-size one for that, and then I started painting on the large canvas that had been sitting on my easel.

As I was spreading the gesso, I covered up words I had scribbled on the canvas as it sat on my easel. I had written, “In perfect love and perfect trust”.

The moment I covered those words an image of an angel popped into my mind. An angel similar to the one I created for my oracle set. An angel that demanded she be painted next. An angel who hasn’t left me alone since she popped in. 

I knew that she would be my next painting and that I wouldn’t be starting one of the paintings from my great experiment series. 

For some reason knowing what she looked like, knowing how she wanted to be painted, I thought for sure, this painting would be straightforward. But as you can see from the photo I shared above she is anything but straightforward. 

I am planning another session this afternoon with the hopes that she will co-operate this time. 

And the long break I was hoping for between wee beastie collections lasted a whole four days before I woke up and thought – pirates… I need pirates…. (SIGH!!)