C1ND3R3LL4

C1ND3R3LL4

"C1ND3R3LL4" - oil on paper, 21 x 21.  Available here and at Artfinder.

“Fairy tales are rife with transformation — from beast to handsome prince, from dirty scullery maid to well-dressed princess. It is perhaps no coincidence that nature in the Cinderella stories facilitates transformation, for nature itself is a changeable thing, from season to season, from a sunny day to rain, from an egg to a flying bird in a matter of weeks."
― Marie Rutkoski

Here we are, back in the realm of fairytales, where the AI bot has provided the inspiration to paint a robot Cinderella. I wonder if that means the AI wants to be a real girl?  Because everyone, at one time or another, wonders what it might be like to be something (someone, some way) other than what they are.

I have always been dazzled by transformation.

Whether it was rearranging the living room furniture as a kid (which my mother, for some reason, never minded), painting a wall, cutting off (or growing out) my hair, even simply pulling weeds to make a patch of the garden look better - something about transformation makes my eyes light up.  I understand Marie Kondo's desire to tidy.  Except I see it as magic.  Perhaps it is the hope that accompanies visible change.  If I can change this small thing, maybe I can also influence that big thing to be different.  And by different, I mean better.  Safer.  Happier. Rut-less.   

 And, well, if you want to go all out, you can always change your name. :)

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​About the art:  beginning with Arches oil paper and some liquin-thinned paint, I toned the paper in two sections, blue upper and the dark brown/violet mixture in the lower section, leaving space for the robot.  A quick colored pencil sketch, then shading the robot with a small brush and thinned paint.  Moving around the painting, alternately softening (with brush or paper towel) or hardening lines (with brush or rubber wedge) until the right balance was achieved.  Adding in the details with a tiny brush, then glazes of color for the background robot body, glaze of white mixture for the tutu.  Adding hot spots at the bottom and resisting the desire to make the background look like anything specific.  This one makes me grin every time I walk by it in the studio.

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It's time for the May Reader Giveaway!  Leave a comment below describing a moment of transformation (or the hope of one to come) in your life.  One (or more) lucky reader (s) will be drawn at random by the giveaway team of Wonder Mike and Lilly to receive a small piece of original art.  Hooray!

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Coming soon!  A Song for the Hunted, a new collaborative on-line show with the amazing mosaic artist, Helaine Abramson.  Details and sneak peeks coming in June.  Get ready to get WILD!