Girl with Mask :: 12"x12" mixed media

I wrote recently of needing a name for my girl, and I was happily overwhelmed with a number of wonderful ideas.  There were so many of the comments that made me ooh and aah out loud, and it was fun trying out all of the different ideas on her.  I managed to narrow it down to just a few choices, but I am still having a hard time picking one.  For now, I have decided to just keep her as "my girl".  I think she wants a little more time to speak to me, and I am also totally open to the idea that she will never have a name, that she will always just be who she is without a specific moniker.

I miss working on her.  Between buying a new house and preparing for the trip I am now on, I made a conscious decision to let go of anything work-related so as to avoid making myself totally nuts.  So I’ve had to let a stack of newly painted panels sit untouched, and remain content with simply writing down ideas for new images of her.  It is probably a bit of a blessing to let her rest for a while.  I worked so furiously on her during the few weeks leading up to my show that my self-imposed break from her is now giving me time to ponder where I might go with her next.  I am eager to go in more conceptual directions with her as well as start a series of oil paintings.  All the work I did for my show was valuable not only because I had more pieces for my show, but also because it gave me the opportunity to practice working on her and become more comfortable with her.  After I created her for the first time in an oil painting, I got instantly nervous about doing more oil paintings, unsure of how I would capture her perfectly again.  Moving to a different medium where I feel a bit freer was the perfect antidote, and I am now ready to dive into oil painting with abandon.

She may not have a name, but she is still teaching me so much, and is with me wherever I go.