Stretching wings

I feel strangely liberated today. I stayed up far too late blogging, yet woke refreshed and the sort throat I've been nursing for days seems finally on the retreat - get back with you varmit...

I've been working from home and knocked out a couple of pieces of work that I'm proud of - real knock 'em dead stuff. I've also been deliberating over my contribution to Theme Thursday - this week it's 'Wings'. With the strains of Mull of Kintyre floating round my head, I set to thinking...

I am reading a wonderfully inspiring book by Kelly Rae Roberts about this very gossamer subject. She is teaching me how to give flight to my creative spirit. Her encouraging words and fine techniques are lifting my soul. I'm also lapping up all the sweet artistic juiciness from the Art Journaling Supernova - experimenting, playing and generally getting messy. What better artistic creation for wings then, than a homage to what I've learnt from both of these.

Maybe I'm just getting old and don't remember, but I'm sure I never 'noticed' autumn quite so much as I do this year. Colours, textures, smells all assail my senses. I feel like a sponge in a 'who can soak up the most' contest and I'm lugging all this inspiration around careful not to spill a drop until it can be poured onto canvas or crafted into words!

This then is representative of my creative flight through Autumn.

I present my 'Creative Wings'. It really is very 'Kelly Rae', so I feel a bit like I cheated myself - it wasn't enough of my own creation. I wasn't too happy with the face - she looks slightly odd... but I can always paint or collage over. Mixed media on canvas board - acrylics, collage, oil pastel and a real oak leaf. I asked some real butterflies to pose just for the picture, but they flew off, fickle things.