A Pig With A Story

Ever hear the saying "Everybody has a story"??

Well, I have a thing for flying pigs. 

And my story is... to me they mean Hope and Possibilities. They encourage me to believe in my dreams, in spite of circumstances or what others tell me.

Above my computer, I have this small piggy:

(as usual, can click on pics to enlarge)

Yesterday I finished my latest flying pig project:

 And my clay flying piggy has a story, too. He started life off in the studio of Etsy artist Jean Fleming (HERE).  He came to me "nekkid", as an unfinished bisque plaque. 

I sealed the bisque clay (fired but unglazed clay) with acrylic medium...

Then I created a scarf around his little neck out of modeling paste, to keep him warm as he flew. ;-)

After the modeling paste cured for a few days,  he got a coating of cream acrylic paint and shadows mostly out of burnt umber and a little burnt sienna.

I dinked around with colored pencils, deciding what color scheme to use for his scarf. I wanted bright and cheerful! The acrylics I used for this project are called Atelier Interactives. Love them! They are formulated to have a long open time, making it so easy to get soft edges and shading. Here's a link to their website, with more info and demos.

And here he is, all decked out in his colorful scarf and ready to soar!

In a week or two after the acrylics have totally "cured", he'll get a protective coat of varnish. If you'd like your own little flying piggy, you can visit Jean at her Etsy store (HERE), and tell her what word you'd like stamped on your own flying pig.

Happy painting & hoping & dreaming & BELIEVING,

Retta