Entrance to the Garden of Hope

Entrance to the Garden of Hope Acrylic on canvas 8" x 10"

The young green grass is adorned with bright red blossoms where the blood red cloak of life's trials and pain meets the earth. Red is the color of passion, courage and blood which is our life force. From sacrifice springs new life and opportunities waiting along a newly created path. The figure courageously moves on steadily without turning back, ever forward into the entrance of a bright new place with endless possibilities accompanied by the seven white doves of the garden of hope.

Scythia
Watercolor & pastel on paper

My first attempt at painting a portrait in a realistic style. It was my first move away from the cartoonism I started with as a kid. As a cartoonist back then, I thought realism was old school museum stuff that were for grown ups and therefore boring. What did I know? I was a kid! This painting started as a doodle of an eye while I was bored taking a break from my math homework. Then somehow, realism didn't seem to be as boring as the math homework so I found myself eagerly working on this piece. It was supposed to be a doodle, which turned into a sketch, which later evolved into a watercolor painting. Finishing this changed my perspective on it all as I started to appreciate the fun challenges of realism and began to add my love of the fantasy genre by creating fantasy portraits.

The setting itself was actually inspired by a dream in which I was followed by the lady in the picture who appeared to be some sort of mystic sorceress or otherwordly being who was benevolent yet frighteningly powerful and wise all at once. I like to think of her as my muse since I couldn't rest until I painted this picture, which was a turning point in my artistic development and inspired me to keep pushing myself.

Square Foot 2009 - Fairy Willow

Fairy Willow

12" x 12" Acrylic on Canvas

Entry #2 for Square Foot 2009 at the AWOL Gallery. Since I was informed that a lot of artists take the annual Square Foot Show as an opportunity to try something different from their usual style, I decided to enter some pieces that are a little more "relaxed" and abstract.I almost always find myself instinctively painting the image of a graceful willow whenever I feel like painting trees. Often found growing near water and long associated with magic and the underworld in many legends such as that of the Greek goddess Hecate of witchcraft, the tree is veiled with the mysteries of stories long told. Once they were believed to be able to uproot themselves and follow travellers. Some cultures believed they housed kind forest spirits who offered guidance. On a scientific note, the willow also has medicinal properties and were used by the ancient Greeks and Native Americans for common ailments and fevers.