This coming February we will have some paintings in Seattle's Krab Jab Studio show, Faerie II.
The show will run from February 8th-27th 2014.
11x14 oil on Belgian Linen
January 2014
I begin with a rough pencil thumbnail to get an idea of what the composition of the piece will be. A digital color mock is created to determine mood and basic lighting.
A final sketch is created after all preliminary work is completed.
The colors are applied in oils with glazing. The color is built up over many glazes to create the atmosphere of the piece.
CALIDA AND THE DIAMOND
A short story by Justin Gerard
Once there was a fairy named Calida, who was very beautiful. Calida was a very energetic fairy, who, like most fairies, did not love to work. Instead, she loved to dance, and she loved music, and most of all, she loved her mother.
One day, Calida’s mother gave her a gift. “This is a magnificent jewel my lovely child,” her mother said, “made from a single star, that once fell to earth, and which I caught when I was your age, in a thistle leaf. And now, I give it to you to have as a treasure forever.”
It was Calida’s most wonderful and favorite possession.
One night Calida heard a nightbird’s song. “What a beautiful melody!” she said to her friends.
Then a joy began to overtake her and her little feet began to wiggle. Then her little knees began to wiggle. Then her whole body began to wiggle and she couldn’t help it; she had to dance. And she and her friends leapt from among the cold clover and danced among the tall flowers. They danced and danced far into the night.
They did not care that it had grown dark, all they cared about was the music. It became so dark in fact, that they couldn’t even see.
Then, as the night came to a close, the dancing finally came to an end. The first rays of the morning began to break through the trees.
Calida exclaimed, “My diamond! It’s gone!”
And they all saw that it was true! It was no where to be seen.
Calida wept, knowing it had been lost somewhere amongst the flowers during all the dancing. And as dawn broke, she went out to search for her lost diamond
Calida never found her diamond, made from a star; but she still searches for it each night.
And if you watch for her, just before sunrise in the forest, you can see her tiny figure, as she goes out and opens each flower in the forest, one at a time, to look for her lost diamond.