Adventure Girl (Part Three)
Well here it is; the final touches. (If you want to follow the whole process; start with Part One then Part Two and finally finish up here with Part Three)
More details on the face and feathers, a little more contrast with white acrylic and black ink and I am ready to scan the canvas. Then Photoshop Time for a few minor tweaks. I decide to try the face paint again. I tend to think of it as war paint -you know life is a battle field and all -but in a good, ready for anything kind of way. This time I copy some of the blue from the background and paste as thick and thin stripes. One of the nice things about photoshop is that with layers nothing has to be permanent if you don’t want it to be -a touch of the mouse and on and off they go.
I apply translucent doodles in red and black on to the girl’s top with custom brushes. I use the dodge and burn tools to to darken the edges and intensify the contrast between elements.
The painting is now complete. Here she is -my brave little warrior girl ready for her grand adventures. Part Phileas Fogg, part Tom Sawyer, part Pocahontas. Poised at that point in life when you truly become yourself. You are ready to take on the word armed with open eyed optimism and fabulous feathers. No doors have yet shut. It is such a scary but exhilarating moment. The world is full of endless possibilities. You feel both small and large. Almost invincible. It is a time for bravery and courage. You are powerful.
There are the obvious milestones in our life when we stand at these crossroads; the transition out of elementary school then from Jr. High to High School and finally graduation. There is your first big trip, first time living alone, or becoming a parent. There are also those scary transitions like when you quit a stable job to follow a passion. Complicated transitions like the ending of a marriage. Sometimes these times of empowerment don’t have an actual outward sign at all; it is a blooming of the heart and you just know you are ready; Ready for whatever is next. The risk of remaining in the bud is more painful than the risk to blossom.
Finally as the last bit, I have played around with the colors and shapes of my adventure girl; skin, hair, eyes, mouth to reflect the rainbow which is us. All ready for our story to continue.
As girls, young and old, fair and dark, we embrace change and the beautiful possibilities that are yet to come. We will seek the unknown and laugh as the wind tousles our hair, keeping our minds curious and our hearts open.
Quote for the day: I have no idea if it is original or something I copied long ago as it comes from one of my journals but I really like what it says. "Courage doesn't always roar; sometimes it is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow."
... & flash is not working again so no music for today. drats :(
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