I am painting the fourth portrait now. I started at 2 in the morning.
I love these hats because I paint them for the creator who lives inside me. Each of these hats is special because they lack design. I haven’t attempted to channel or even hide the chaos. Each of these has evolved organically. Usually I start an artwork with a sketch then paint over it. I do this more out of need, I’d say; when you illustrate for a publication, there’s a review process that entails an approval on the sketch. The hat-paintings are all done without a supporting sketch. I would start painting a face, expressions would emerge; I’d then read those expressions and paint a hat that told the story of the expression on the face.
Artists speak of inspiration, of a portrait that painted itself; illustrators don’t. But within every illustrator lives is an artist. I don’t meet mine very often, but when I do – I paint stuff that’s oddly out-of-place on this blog.
For those who haven’t seen the hats yet.
The hats happened quite suddenly. Then they stopped. For about three months, I didn’t paint any. Now, I’m painting them again.
I can’t explain my behavior. Perhaps you can. I just know when I must paint them – the why of the hats as well as the inspiration, evades me.
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They are all gorgeous, and I think perhaps the ‘why’ is supposed to remain mysterious. Let your inner you speak! 🙂
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Thanks Lydia. May be you are right. Perhaps the reason why i can’t answer the why lies in the fact that there’s no answer to it. Instead I must focus on painting the images that come into my mind.
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Yes sometimes I think that’s what makes the most sense for some things. They just have to come out of you, and you weren’t even aware they were there wanting to be let out!
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You said it right, Lydia. This is exactly what I feel when I paint those hats.
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As you know Shafali, I love your hats and I am very happy that they are speaking to you again. Maybe you just needed time to rejuvenate your inspiration for them.
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I know that you like them. I keep oscillating between writing, drawing, illustrating, painting…right now I’m back to doing some portrait-art for a magazine. Let us see when I can get back to finishing my next hat.
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she looks like Menka… 😉 or maybe Kaylyn! 😀 (My own vampires through centuries for everyone besides me and the artist)
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None of these ladies are vampires, Barb. And definitely NOT Menka! Menka would be a stone-hearted red-lipped, black haired, dark-eyed gothic beauty.
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🙂 Kaylyn, then… because of the blood on her lips! 😉
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Barb, think about it. She might be the victim here.
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yes, I’m aware she can also be a victim of domestic abuse…
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Then she can’t be Menka – who is the abuser and not the abused. The look in Menka’s eyes…I’d love to capture it. You aren’t thinking of writing a book on her life – are you?
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LOL! No, the millennia-old vampires won’t have their own books – Readers will have to glean information from their fledglings stories! 🙂
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Good…good. I don’t think Menka deserves to be glorified. She makes my skin crawl.
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Inspired!
I love your hats. I suspect a glimpse inside your head would reveal a land I’d want to visit if my name was Alice A rare kind of wonderland. : )
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Thanks. I’d say you are welcome to look inside. I am not sure what you are going to find – you may actually be surprised. And when you return from your trip you can fill me in 🙂
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I love your hat paintings! Really looking forward to seeing the next one.
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Thanks. If you promise not to tear it into pieces or do what you did with those books…I’ll post it shortly.
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Please. And I promise to conduct myself a little better than His Gibship does. 🙂
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Ok then. I hope you’ll keep your word 🙂
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