She’s sleeping after the long road I travelled to finish this painting. Fabric, flesh, fabric, flesh, it was a dance back and forth, until at last I could say she was done.

The painting rotated 360 degrees, starting with her facing face down, then tall, and finally facing upwards. The background morphed from rug to floor to black to finally, this royal blue oriental patterned fabric I dug from my stash of quilt fabrics.

Royal Dreams
2011 | 30 x 40 | oil on canvas | available

Madeleine Wood, an artist I discovered on the Internet, paints messed up beds. She calls them Bedescapes. I wish I could meet her and see her works in person. The folds and pleats of sheets, pillows, blankets and bedspreads form graceful shapes and swirling designs.They become an abstract pattern that convey a sense of peacefullness. I’ve always loved painting fabric, like Primary. You can get lost in the space.

This is the fabric I was inspired to surround her with. If I could sleep on it, I would (but my piece is only one yard–not big enough for a bed sheet). It has all these silky, pearlescent shimmers in the florals, like something under the sea, or something royal.

Women sleeping is a continuing interest in my figure works. When we dream, we figure out how to fix the problems in our lives, our families, and the world. Then we wake up and confront reality. The dreams don’t match what we face every day, yet we keep on dreaming they will. It’s one way of coming to terms with the way we believe things should be, versus how they really are.

Royal Dreams | Watercolor Study | 9 x 12 

This is the small watercolor study I did back in early April. The concept was successful, so I moved onto the larger oil version. Little did I know she would occupy the better part of two months on my easel. My paintings are like children. I have to nurture them before releasing them. When I am finished, they are ready to face the eye of the viewer.

Now that she is finished I can feel free to move onto a new painting. I don’t know what it will be yet, but like an unborn child, I will love and nurture it until it is ready to be set free.

Goodnight and royal dreams!