The bird girl

This week for Sunday Sketches, I have temporarily laid down my Drawing Lab book as I've been playing with Mystele in the Little Glimpses studio. She offered a free storytelling class. I've been a fan of hers for around a year now and love how she's never afraid to 'keep going' with a piece, layering over and over again until the real story of the piece shows itself.

In the same spirit, I took an old picture that I didn't quite know what to do with and decided to start again. The original was an autumnal Kelly-Rae style piece but one I was never happy with once I discovered the Suzi Blu method to drawing stylised faces!

My poor girl, who sadly lacked the quirkiness of Kelly's sweet girls disappeared under thick gesso and more layers of collage and acrylics. Inks and tissue paper replaced the old story with the new.

I left my background to dry overnight while I waited for the narrative to reveal. I guess it was inevitable that a girl's face would materialise. I sketched her with charcoal expecting to paint in her features but she immediately told me that wasn't her way. She would reveal herself by what had gone before, share her history through her layered background. Then, just when I thought she was settled, a large black bird landed on her shoulder and cocked a bright eye at me. I blinked in surprise and could have sworn he smiled before he too began to fade into the background history.

The question remains - do I continue to work on her, pull the chapters out, or is her story complete.... ?

Mixed media on canvas board. Acrylics, papers, tissue, ink, charocal.