Tree of Life - close shots and insights

I'm very pleased with my new camera. although is not a professional one, I think it works fine enough for my needs. I have to learn how to deal with it though; it has more features than my deceived one. I'm happy for being now able to show details of my stuff.

the Tree of Life is starting to show its truth and my ideas are flowing more freely with the progress of the work. now I know what's that all about: organicity, sperm, fecundation. it's about contacting the Divine through pleasure, celebration of the body, fire and transmutation. the idea of placing a peacock on the tree is an old insight of mine, which later found some synchronicity with the ideas of a friend. the feathers started to resemble sperm to me. and that's just beautiful.

the end of the peacock tale represents a womb. this is all about fecundation. the peacock as a symbol of renewal is here also linked to the idea that we are born again when we generate life.

detail of the hand of the "tree". the three women intertwined represent the cycles of life, or the triple aspect of the Goddess - Maiden, Mother and Crone.

+

this morning I was notified that my work Flourish will be part of the 2010 Art Wanted Calendar. happy happy.

more Tree of Life shots

I was taking some reference pictures for future works when my daughter knocked down the tripod and the camera hit the floor. needless to say I no longer have a camera, but another one was already ordered and its on its way. while the new one doesn't arrive, please enjoy my last progress shots of my Tree of Life.

in progress: Tree of Life

so far, so good. 25 x 20 inches, and using white pastel for the highlights instead of colored pencil. I am really enjoying to work in a bigger format.

Tree of Life: third attempt

guess what: I rejected the second attempt of the Tree of Life.for some reason I found the background a little too messy and thought that the figures should occupy more space in the picture.

here's my new sketch, subject to further improvements:

 

I didn't pay too much attention to the size of the sketch, and it ended up too large for the boards I have available around here. had to order larger ones. that will be the largest painting I ever made so far (20 x 30 approximately.) hope I don't screw up again.

+

an almost act of impulsiveness made me open a basic store on Ebay. the first and only experience I had with them was not very positive, but since I am a persistent girl, I decided to give it another try. no auctions his time, though. it's hard to compete with artists that are practically selling themselves out.

+

mandalas are now my new thing. I have always enjoyed them very much, and got to run a few workshops in Brazil in geometrical mandala making. however, my experience with them was purely intellectual. but since I decided to try it in a more emotional level, so to speak, they have been pretty much intriguing me and I decided to start a production of mandalas. it's just the beginning and we'll see if they keep my excitement going like my regular art does.

+

speaking about mandalas: I'll be very soon running an online workshop joining astrology and mandala making. first edition will be experimental and free of charge. space will be very limited (only 12 persons), so stick around for new announcements!

sneak peak at the workspace

i love to see other artists' workspaces but was never able to show mine. when I was pregnant I had to transform my studio room into a nursery. as a result, I've been in a kind of limbo, setting up my stuff anywhere I could work in. our house is not very big and the basement and attic are just inhabitable. finally I set up everything in a corner of the dining room. with time I was needing more and more space and taking over the dining room like a disease; finally the dining table was occupying a minimum space in a corner. so last Monday I decided to officialize my conquest. I covered the cheesy wallpaper stripe (left as a heritage of my hubbie's first marriage) in white, put some shelves on the walls, and in less than a couple days I had a decent workspace, worthy to show off. with time I'll be adding more colorful details, plants, and other stuff I like. :)

drawing/painting corner (she had to be in the picture.)

computer corner. a shelf on the wall works as a place for my laptop. goth tendencies in the Bauhaus poster I love. old hubbie's English style chair was going to the trash, so I rescued it and covered with a throw. I don't really like the chair since I'm not fond of big and museum-like things, but I decided to keep it for being really comfortable. I'll probably make it a funky cover in the future.

the shelves.

the shelf with my art supplies, finished and half-finished paintings are by the other wall; the view is not very nice so I decided not to show it. the dining table? it is squeezed in a corner of the room. we don't really need a lot of space for meals. :P

+

and since too much work made me forget my manners these last days, I'd like to thank to all the new followers for finding me and joining the blog. also, many thanks for all the ones that took the time to leave comments. many blessings to all!