"Purple Falls" - An Expressionistic Painting of the Falls in Yosemite

"Purple Falls"     2.5" x 3.5"     Acrylic on Canvas Paper (ACEO)

SOLD

Well hello there! Today's painting has an interesting little story to it. It is the second attempt at an expressionistic painting that was commissioned by my winner of one of my contests, Sea. I don't know if you remember it, but the first one ended up rather pink, and it wasn't until it had sat on my shelf for awhile that I realized what I created, while lovely in my own opinion, wasn't exactly what she had asked for. The color pallette ended up more along the green and pink scale rather than purple, blue and green.

Luckily I realized all that before sending it out, and even though it was a bit embarrassing, I had to make sure she truly liked it first before I sent it overseas. I was right - the painting wasn't quite what she was hoping for, so I gladly offered to try my hand at it again, wanting to make sure that what she ended up with would be something she would truly treasure. So here it is, my second and very joyous attempt to get things right.  =0)

And you know, even though it was humbling to admit my own error, I'm glad I brought it up to her and not the other way around. It's never fun finding out you didn't please your clients, so if you have the opportunity to make sure they like it beforehand, I strongly recommend it. And now because of all this I  have an extra little painting to sell. If you're interested, here it is:

"Path to Power"     2.5" x 3.5"     Acrylic on Canvas Paper (ACEO)

As for the pretty little purple one at the top of this post, well it will shortly make it's way across the ocean and to her door. How cool is that?! I'm super excited, more than you can imagine, at knowing that my work will be owned internationally. That's AMAZING!!! It's just about one of the coolest things you can hope for with your art, or at least that's how I feel about it. =D

And as for the process behind this work, well, I challenged myself to be more free and loose with both my strokes and my use of color than I was in the first one, and honestly I was really surprised at how difficult that was. I guess working small does come with some restraints after all! No using big brushes here... Hahaha! No, no, no... And the teeny-tiny ones didn't work either, which was even more shocking. What ended up working best was a size 3 round. It allowed me to make small yet overstated brushstrokes and to create a feeling that was more expressionistic in nature than my first attempt.

And now I'm off to work on one of my other commissioned pieces by one of my first winners. Thank God she's a good friend of mine and is being rather patient, because I would be in a mess of trouble if not. It's just taking a bit longer than normal. But luckily I found my sweet spot with it and am on a roll. I can't wait to post it when it's done - her idea was awesome and while it's a difficult painting for me, it's turning out beautifully. Well, I suppose I should let you be the judge of that, but hey, a girl can like her own work, right? Oh I sure hope so...! =0)  Well, take care my friends. As for me, I'm off to paint! =D