For 2024 Spring art collab, 31 artists were gathered to paint environmental artworks centered around “blossoming life”.
Each artist tackled the theme differently, looking at it from very different perspectives, creating enchanting and fascinating pieces!
DISCLAIMER! While it may seem strange to have a failed attempt image in a portfolio, I think it is important to acknowledge the growth that came from development mistakes. In this case, I started the project with a clear vision in mind, but without references nor a basic knowledge on character development.
Some initial rough sketches to get the feeling of my initial idea, a spring bringer.OC designs based on swallows, which are said to bring spring. The background supposedly fades from snow to greener fields full of flowers.Color thumbnails. Here I realized that I was biting more than I could chew…The color choices brought me to drastically change my vision, which lead to a more nihilistic background. Definetly not what I had in mind for the theme.
Here you can see how I interpreted the theme after the first failed attempt: I started thinking about blossoming life as the interaction of nature and something supernatural.
Back to brainstorming: some more rough sketches. I decided to go for the fourth thumbnail, for the more gentle illumination and message: spring, to me, is also the feeling of starting to wake up again after a long winter season.
The main mistake in my previous process was to not gather up references for my background.
I feel in my comfort zone when painting forests, so I went for that (also because the collaboration deadline was slowly approaching).
Moodboard created to gather ideas after first failed attempt.Step-by-Step: building up the painting. I started with the background (mostly inspired by Unknown author’s reference in my moodboard. Then I included the stump, but I kept thinking about the supernatural interacting with the natural… After some research, I finally thought of adding a fox to represent the wild essence of life, curiously exploring a Jizo statue, which in some Eastern cultures is often associated with protection of children and the souls in the afterlife, hence symbolizing the guardianship and nurturing aspect of life.Final composition.
