Water Sirens (redux)

Hey all, I have a feeling this will prove to be the quickest I will have ever followed up on a previous blog. Anyways, I was inspired by two things to make additions to the below water siren art.

The first came from my seeing an endless amount of fairy images on a women's "My Space" page. It reminded me how bonded so many women are with those free-spirited fictitious little beings. I often love to show the less shiny side of our icons of happiness, not because I'm a cynical ol' crab but because we all need to be reminded no one is immune to bad days and that familiar sense of deep despair. So here we have a winged being associated with freedom and folly finding herself in a rather trying situation.

The second thing that inspired me to alter my art was receiving an email from my bud' Martha (who happens to be this month's Toil Girl in the Spotlight). She had some rather poignant remarks about my concept sketch and how she interpreted it:


"I love the rock art. It seems a bit lonely to me...all alone on the rock with the seas surrounding you and the dark skies above....I LOVE it personally and I like to see the darker side of you, Les...lots of girls want to see happy fat and sometimes it's just not that way...sometimes it's a struggle to see the beauty in something most people find grotesque or carnival...it's like standing on a rock in the middle of the sea, alone, while the world throws its worst at you...but the beauty is that no skinny, self-abased girl could handle it...she would be blown down with the first gale but a woman with a firm foundation in herself and size would be a lighthouse to bring others to realize it's not the size but the foundation that holds her steadfast..."


Martha, I want to say your eloquent evaluation of my art is nothing less than profound and poetic. I was incredibly moved by those words as I'm sure everyone else who reads them will be as well. Some will be enlightened by your words where as many will appreciate your ability to express so much of what they've felt in their own hearts about themselves.

In all honesty I hadn't even considered that the woman on the rock was in any state of despair until I received Martha's email. I have to admit she added depth to this image that goes deeper than the ocean itself. If and when I actually take this piece of art to completion, I'd love to have her words accompany it.

Now the question is....

...wings or no wings?