girl with red hair

my first ever art journal page! it started as an assignment for misty mawn's stretching within e-course.

 i began, very tentatively, with a black background. then added an image i was drawn to in an anthropologie catalog (i was really loving the doves above her head).

then i tried painting over the girl's face and she got this brilliant red hair. i was really amazed at just how reserved i felt with this first art journal page. 

i had all sorts of energy and vibrant brush strokes when it came to laying down color, but as soon as i went into details, i froze. that's when i layered on more images, like the dragonfly and window.

i still felt like it needed more. i found this rounded shape and pasted it above her head. that's when my mind started thinking...what is this? and most of the time when i'm painting, i try to stop thinking, but this time i had a lot of emotion, feeling literally caged in, so i went with it. 

drawing this girl all caged in then became incredibly freeing for me. it allowed me to move through that emotion and reminded me just how healing art can be!