Rapunzel

"Rapunzel" - oil on canvas, 15 x 20 x 1.  Ready to hang.  Available here and at Artfinder.

"I reread Rapunzel the other day after many years and wondered why I ever liked this fairy-tale. I found myself screaming at the pages: “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, cut off your hair! Use it as a rope and escape from there!” - Leah M. Mariani

The wild god is a-pushin' and a-nudgin' into the realm of fairytales.    There is a hoard of Alices, Little Reds, an Evil Queen and a few wanna-be fairytale characters parading on the studio wall.  Each one is demanding a deeper look into their story - or for a story to be created around them.  (They are a LOUD bunch, btw.  Anyone who thinks these characters are mild-mannered and well behaved is kidding themselves)

Mariani got me with the quote - Rapunzel had the means of escape all along.  So why didn't she?

Rapunzel

Which got me to thinking, when in my own life (creatively, professionally, personally) have I remained trapped in a metaphorical tower while the path to freedom was right within my grasp?  And oh, dear reader, there are many times.  The "towers" that trap us might be in the guise of security, predictability, fear of (insert any word you'd like here), or the things we've been told (and come to believe) about our own strength, talent, tenacity and creativity.   I think I build my own towers, mostly.  Fortunately, there have been people along the way who have opened my eyes to the ladders hanging from the windows.  And now and again, I've cut off all my hair.

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About the art: the AI bot and I had a grand time coming up with the inspiration image for this one.  There were  very few wonky interpretations - a pretty straightforward creative collaboration (unlike most of the others, which have been quite meandering).

​Beginning with a canvas lightly toned with oil paint and Liquin, adding a colored pencil sketch and thin layers of paint.  Keeping the color palette pretty narrow and focusing on value.  Using thin washes to create shadows in the fabric and in the window frame.  Using a narrow, round brush heavily saturated with paint and paint thinner to drag individual ropes of hair across the canvas.  Whispering to Rapunzel to climb out the darn window already.