Arriving at a conclusion

"Seize the Day" 36x36

Here I am holding "Seize the Day" to give a good relation to the size. It's fun to paint big! I am getting ready for a Street Fair in April so I needed some big, attention getting pieces and that's exactly what I'm working on this week.

I started with my very favorite background....vintage pattern paper. I tried to take a close up of the purple flower on the right of the painting so the detail in the background would show. In the overall look it really makes a great textured surface and only when studied closely do you realize it is from a sewing pattern.

One of my favorite parts is the vase. I tried to loosen up with the highlights. Something I am working more towards and hopefully will come out in future work in a much bigger way. Notice how the entire painting appears to be a piece of a bigger picture. It looks like there is more...or at least that is what I want to convey....

Upon struggling with how to communicate that message, I arrived at a conclusion...

The best way for me to portray the meaning behind this painting, and explain the title was to hide a ladybug in the scene. A ladybug's life is short yet important and meaningful in the world of insects. It represents us as people putting into perspective how small we are in the scope of a much bigger picture. See it? Though our lives here are fleeting, in perspective of the 'big picture' , we can make a significant impact in our own way......"Seize the Day"