Virtual Paintout 26: Sri Lankan Princess!

Yay, I finished in time!

This paintout was irresistible. How could I NOT paint an adorable little elephant I discovered along the roadside in Udawalawe National Park, Sri Lanka.

That's where the Virtual Paintout gang went for the month of April: to Sri Lanka. It was a blast! They revere elephants there, and even decorate and beautifully paint them for festivals. 

In light of that, I imagined my little Asian elephant was on her way to a Festival, and gave her a leg bracelet with turquoise stones and golden bells.

Here is the original location where I found her (you can click on any pics to enlarge):

The design surrounding our Princess was influenced by the traditional style of arts and crafts in Sri Lanka, and I left some of the birch wood showing in the finished painting.

First layers and linework:

Starting to add shading and hints of color:

 Working on grasses and the Princess:

"Sri Lankan Princess"

Sri Lanka

acrylic on 8x8x1.5  cradled birch

(prints and cards available HERE)

I hope you enjoyed meeting our Sri Lankan Princess!

Retta

A Princess

Here it is almost the end of the month, and once again I'm scrambling to finish my painting for the Virtual Paintout! I really did start early. Life just loves to get in the way!

My new goal: defend my Studio Time like a Mama tiger!! :-D

In the meantime, below are a couple of pics of my progress on the painting based on Sri Lanka, the country we are virtually visiting this monthly.

When I spotted this little elephant along side the road, I knew she was my subject. They revere elephants in Sri Lanka, and even decorate and paint them beautifully for festivals.

Fun factoid: Sri Lanka has more festivals in the year than any other country in the world!

I included border design based on the arts and crafts of Sri Lanka, and since my little elephant is on her way to a Festival, I gave her a beautiful belled leg bracelet.

Here are the first layers of Sri Lankan Princess - let's hope I get it finished before the end of the month!!

Hope you like my Princess,

Retta

Stamping My Feet with Excitement

I'm excited! My new chops have arrived from China.

While I enjoyed painting Carpe Diem Rabbit, I had a heck of a time making a nice looking "chop" signature to go along with the Asian theme for it. It's sort of... chunky/funky. :-}

So, I did something I've wanted to do for a long time: ordered my own genuine Chinese signature chop that has my name, Retta, translated into Chinese. In the same order, I had one created that translates to Blessing.

I found a wonderfully talented Master Seal Cutter on Etsy named Feng Zhuo. He did an amazing job. The square one (my name) is a green agate with a light swirl in the stone, and the other is a very dark purple with a shimmer. Beautifully and delicately carved. I am so impressed!

I can highly recommend Feng Zhuo. He works with you, and personalized my order. He answers emails promptly, and shows you a sample from your stamp for your approval before he ships. 

His Etsy shop is called Chineseseal, HERE.

This is from his About Me page on Etsy:

About Me:

Feng Zhuo, poet, master of seal cutting, was born in Confucius’ hometown: Qufu City of Shandong Province, China. He is the 28th generation disciple of the Dragon Gate sect of the Complete Reality School of Taoism. He graduated from Jining Polytechnic, majoring in Foreign Trade English, and then got his bachelor's degree at Jining University. 

He worked on a project for the development zone and translated the instruction of the film washing machine. He also worked at the press centre of Jining Electric Power Company where he earned the title of Excellent Editor.

Seal carving is a personal, artistic, and professional exploration for Feng. His inspiration for this craft follows in the tradition of seal art from the Qin and Han Dynasties. For Feng this is a combined study of history as well as of his self-expression. His capability and expertise is broad and suited for all interests from traditional to contemporary. He has pleased customers world-wide who can offer enthusiastic recommendation.

If you get one for yourself, let me know, I'd love to see it.

Now, off to make a painting so I can stamp it!

Happy stamping,

Retta