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I actually love the way this one turned out. The family/personal stress has been crippling in my real life, but I managed this for a gallery show I had committed to, just in time for the deadline! Their theme is "Spirit Animal", La Bodega gallery in San Diego, CA (show is June 9-19th, 2018.) Actually, a lot of the recent pieces I have been finishing are for gallery shows, I always forget to mention that.

This is 8x10, acrylic on fine canvas panel.(I've been running so far behind my deadlines, that I haven't been able to use my favored oils. No time!)

It was interesting in that, like the small nudes I did earlier, I started with a more colorful background. It had hues of teals and even strong greens pushing into the dark tones... and it just did NOT work! It's the way I have always painted before, so what the heck was my problem? And like the nudes, I realized I was veering away from those colors to more earth-toned, ground-based types of tones in my head and that was my problem. As soon as I flipped the background with Payne's Grey and unbleached Titanium white everything was ok again (I am in LOVE with unbleached Titanium White. I don't know why I never used the stuff before this year. I want to buy every tube I see now!) I wasted so much time trying to rework the background with the wrong colors... sometimes I just want to smack myself. Clearly, I am shifting my preferences as an artist. 

Sometimes it's like art is controlling me, rather than me controlling my art.

Anyway, flipped the background and suddenly everything else went much better and fell into place! This is one that if it didn't sell, I would probably keep it to myself. I have it in a fantastic white scrolling frame, and already buyers are interested. So, I know it'll go - whether to one of those or someone else. I think I'm definitely in the mood to paint more owls, though!

Loose reference photo: pixabay for the owl (actually two from there I kinda crossed over and then went my own way with)

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