Enter Lady Spring

I was laying in bed last week just beginning to wake up, when I had an image come into my head. It was the image of a Marie-Antoinette-type woman whose big bouffant hair became clouds. The more I thought about her, the more she formed in my mind until I finally had to go into the studio and sketch her out (that doesn't happen very often for me). Since then, I've been working on her when I can. Despite missing the first day of spring, I finally completed her today.

The composition is a symbolic representation of the entrance of spring and reads from left to right with the beginning of spring (March) being on the left progressing through to the end of spring (May and June) on the right. I wanted to represent how spring comes in chilly and ends with beautiful blue skies. I did this in two ways. First, I made her dress a lighter grey on the left-hand side with the dress becoming a deeper blue as the eye moves right. Second, the movement in the background on the left represents the wind and bluster of spring's beginnings and then the calm tranquil background on the right represents what late spring is like.

I adorned Lady Spring with blossoms from the spring garden. The trim on her dress is made up of hundreds of almond blossoms (the first flower of spring). The almond blossom petals are carried on the winds of March which are represented by the fan she carries. Lady Spring also has crocus, periwinkle, jonquils, lilacs, daffodils, roses, and tulips adorning her gown.

Lady Spring is followed by her puffy grey tabby as a nod to the old adage "March comes in like a lamb, and goes out like a lion". Kitty has her own little adornments of spring blossoms around the base of her tail--jonquils and almond blossoms.

I did the entire composition digitally in Photoshop from beginning to end (even the first sketching that I usually do in pencil on paper). I used a lot of new techniques I haven't used before too. Usually when I do that, I'm not very happy with the result because the methods are so new, but this time the art came out just like I was seeing it in my head. That's a sign to me that I'm making creative progress.

"Enter Lady Spring" is available in fine art prints, canvases & greeting cards by clicking here