Things about this painting:
* I sold it a few weekends ago (yay!)
* It was painted on top of another picture I'd done earlier. I have a great fear of pristine surfaces. Go and look at this comic by Gingerhaze. And then go and read her entire tumblr, which to me is basically one great dramatic pileup of this:
* The style of this painting was inspired in part by the first Black Orchid graphic novel - the early scenes in the greenhouse are some of the most gorgeous images I have ever seen.
* Malachite kingfishers are among my favourite things. The second thing I drew when I began taking art classes, aged 9 or so, was a malachite kingfisher. (The first was a green pepper, halved.)
* They are much smaller than they look in pictures (malachite kingfishers, not green peppers). I've never seen a live one, sadly, but I saw a skin in the museum at the University of the Witwatersrand, and it was no bigger than a sparrow.
* Oh yeah, I've been working on and off in the museum at Wits, and if you're a fan of snakes, spiders, bugs, axolotls, or giant green iguanas that like hanging out on logs and watching people do aerobics (seriously) and if you'll be in Jo'burg any time between tomorrow and Sunday, you should attend this event.
* I know the last point has exactly nothing to do with my picture. But, the iguana! It really happened. I was coming in from lunch, and what appeared to be most of the museum staff were doing some sort of dance routine, and the iguana was on a log, sommer there on the floor, watching them. It was one of those great moments in life, the ones you know you'll treasure forever. And there was an enormous hi-fi, and an instructor, and I think some people had belly-dancing belts, the ones with the coins. And... and... the iguana. It was beautiful.
P.S. In case you're one of the 17 people in the world who haven't seen this clip yet, may I present another of those beautiful moments. I don't feel bad saying that, because the kid wasn't hurt. Just don't read the comments on YouTube. They are exactly as you would expect.
Guys guys guys, I got my first spam! I'm a real blogger now 0.0
ReplyDeleteWhat's next, trolls? I sure hope not.
Beautiful painting, Lesley! And congrats on selling it.
ReplyDeleteLisa, I guess that works like an innoculation, and now I have permanent troll immunity, right? ...right?
ReplyDeleteGlad I made you LOL! :D
So much to catch up on - mea culpa! <3 this - I am so in awe of your talent - not just for the sheer beauty of the art, but as someone who trained as a biologist, I love how your illustrations nearly leap off the page, bringing the animal or plant to life. It makes me want to do field work and see real ones!! xx
ReplyDeleteAwww, thank you so much! :)
ReplyDeleteI've been pretending to be a biologist lately - it's making me almost wish I'd done the same (almost because I'm pretty happy with my path right now)