Left-Handed Pinky...

Sometimes I get a creative idea in my head and I must execute it immediately! And such is the case with a recent painting of mine... featuring this adorable little girl I named Pinky.  You see... I wanted to loosen up my style a bit and so I decided to do an entire painting left-handed! I wanted a real folk art feel, so I took several approaches for this personal assignment...

Starting with my usual techniques, I began to create lots and lots of layers. Lots! It's actually pretty funny (and a little scary!) to see where the face begins in this process. It actually looks like a psychopathic fluorescent baby panda, right?

Ahhhhh... a little better with more layers, but still kind of scary without the eyeballs! But I knew in my head where the piece was going, so I let myself trust the process and let it unfold with my non-dominant hand.

For this painting, I used a very, very, very dry brush for all of the strokes. After I put the paint on the brush, I wiped it almost completely dry onto a paper towel. When I changed colors, I didn't re-use that wet brush... I used another dry brush.

It took a long time and required much patience, especially doing it awkwardly left-handed... but the effect was worth it. Lots and lots of yummy layers of colors that highlighted the paintstrokes beneath.

Layers covered. Layers uncovered. Adding more over top. It really was a deliciously delightful process!

The last thing I did was add the polka dots to the background... because I'm an ass-backwards kind of gal... and because I thought it needed a little something subtle. But when I stepped back... I fell in love with her immediately! She was everything I had hoped for in my mind, before I started to paint. And when that actually happens — besides being a miracle in and of itself — I start to believe in myself as an artist. I start to believe that maybe I really can make the things that I see in my head. And I start to want to create more things because I trust myself.

Now that's one left-handed compliment!