Day 27 - Freewheeling Spirit

 So, if you've been following along with me this month, you will know that I have spent some of it exploring different ways to get rainbows into my paintings.  This image came to me the other day, the turtle with rainbow skates and a little rainbow flag on his back, and toting around a snail friend.. it wasn't until I started painting him that I decided to also give him a rainbow shell.. 

Doing a 30 day challenge does so many things for you as an artist, and one of them is to help you to explore new ideas.. And while the work I've created is still rooted firmly in the whimsical and always designed for smiles, the rainbow is an area I wasn't sure about, but wanted to explore..  

(Here is today's painting, titled "Freewheeling Spirit" because, well, isn't he just?)

"Freewheeling Spirit", oil, 10"x10", purchasing details can be found here

One reason I hesitated using rainbow imagery is that the rainbow has strong connections with whole communities of people, such as the LGBTQ+ community.. And, to clarify, I fully support anyone's sexual preference, identity etc.. and have people in my life who I care deeply about who are gay or lesbian.. I'm totally down that the rainbow is a symbol that is used in their community. 

But, I am not LGBT or Q... so that is not why I wanted to explore it.. instead, the Rainbow resonates with me for other reasons..  I wondered, when I first thought of exploring the rainbow, if it perhaps has been too strongly branded LGBTQ, and therefore can only be seen as an LGBTQ symbol... will it work for my paintings???

...but then, I decided I was way over thinking things again... Geeze.. I simply wanted design paintings with rainbow elements for crying out loud.. (I  argue with myself a lot..)  Whatever the meaning is for you, that is great!  For me, I love COLOR... I love actual rainbows (I mean, who doesn't, right?)  and I have just loved the infinite design possibilities I've realized by adding the rainbow to my paintings. Alright.. enough of the blabbing ramble. 

Oh, wait.. one more thing.. as I was painting this guy, I thought about how he is a perfect companion for the Rainbow Roller-skating Rabbit from a few paintings back! You know, the Tortoise and the Hare, and all that..?

And here is "Roller Skating Rainbow Rabbit", also still for sale here :)