Meet Gigi, the giraffe.

After more than a year away, I am finally painting again!

Meet Gigi.
A blue giraffe! Well, she's blue right now, but that will change.
What you're seeing right now is her acrylic Phthalo Blue underpainting against a bright Yellow Orange Azo/Napthol Red mix (orangish) background.
After roughly sketching her with a black sharpie (not something I usually do), I washed the canvas with these bright colors, the opposite of what the top coat colors will be.
Ultimately, the sky will be shades of blue and Gigi will be shades of gold and orange with small bits of the bright underpainting peeking through here and there in the finished painting. I love that effect.
Colorful and whimsical are my goals with this painting, and so far, I'm digging the results.
I especially love her sweet face. She's got a dragonfly on her nose, and will be just slightly cross-eyed and grinning as she looks at it.
And, did I mention she's a full 6 feet tall?!
She's a diptych, two 18" x 36" canvases.

How did I find my way back to my easel and paints again after more than a year away?

Well, I've been pretty much a full time caregiver for my hubby these last 3 years as he's fought Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and Myelodysplastic Syndrome.
And he's doing pretty darn good now considering what he's been through, including intensive Chemotherapy in 2011 (which thankfully put his Lymphoma in remission) and a Bone Marrow Transplant 20 months ago that has put his Myelodysplastic Syndrome into remission as well, but he still needs quite a bit of care. I can't leave him alone for long lengths of time.


So.
I did some minor remodeling of our home, which included converting our home office into a small (9'x10') studio inside the main part of our house.



To reach my other big ole studio (14' x18'), I had to go through two closed doors.
It was way too far removed from the main part of the house and way, way too far away from Brian for me to feel comfy painting there.
I simply couldn't relax or get in a painting zone not knowing if he needed me inside the house. I tried, but just couldn't do it.
In my new smaller studio, I can see and hear him, so I am now totally relaxed when I want to paint.
Yay!!

Yep, Gigi's going to be an adventure, and the perfect project to become reacquainted with painting again. I'm super excited to see where she leads me.
I'll post progress pics as I find small chunks of time to work on her.