In the gigantic world of art, being unique is almost always a virtue. But creating original ideas is extremely challenging. It pays to be alert for new opportunities. Here’s how it happened to me:
My husband and I were invited to a fund raising event for the IHHA in Denver, CO. At the last minute we learned the theme of the event was a masked ball; we didn’t have any masks! What to do? We didn’t want to be the only people there without the proper attire, so I got busy.
Using 140lb watercolor paper (the paper I use for most of my watercolor paintings), I quickly sketched out the faces of two giraffes. They looked pretty good to me, so I painted them using my usual watercolor technique, added a couple of strands of yarn, and..voila a pair of pretty unique masks. They were among the most creative at the party.
After the party, the masks got tossed on the floor of my studio. As I walked by them one day, I thought “What would they look like if there were eyeballs behind the masks looking outward?”
I painted a few eyeballs,
my husband mounted them on a board, we overlaid the mask and WOW, it looked like the animal was looking back at us!
That became the inspiration for our new multi-media presentation; the Mask Series. I took the idea and ran with it, enlarging the mask to include the nose,adding whiskers and eyelashes, mounting on a fabric-covered board, and finishing them with a decorative ribbon.
I even created separate concave eyeballs out of watercolor paper to add to the realistic effect.
This is my brand-new multi-media series: Animal Masks. Many new versions are under construction or in the planning stage. We hope you will feel as enthusiastic about them as we do. Please share your comments with us.
Unfortunately, portraying them with photos is difficult, you really need to see them for yourself.
So come to one of our shows.
More Pix on my Website Click Here
