Art Explosion Week 28 Entry: Melancholy

Good day everyone! How are you all doing? After few weeks of hiatus from holding my brushes, I am back again! Yahoo! On a serious note, I hope I still can make it to @juliakponsford's #artexplosion contest.

This week's theme is Melancholy! In simple words, melancholy is a feeling of sadness usually with no probable cause. As of the moment, I feel a bit melancholic.

Anyway, this is my entry.

A short story dedicated for this artwork

Once upon a time, there was a lonely girl who lives in a castle in a faraway land. She has a unique voice and a wonderful glowing hair. She was lonely but she was not desperate nor miserable to be in someone's company. Her parents died from an unknown disease few years ago.

One day, she decided to travel to a town which is miles away from her castle. She brought with her some lovely flowers just in case she would meet someone along the way.

She was singing songs merrily as she realized that the town is just few meters away from her. Her heart was pounding heavily as few men approached her. She got scared but then decided not to show it to them.

It was then that opne of the guys harassed her sexually while the rest were just laughing at her. She ended with bruises and sore on her entire body. She was not lonely anymore, but she felt she was so sad and broken. Her flowers wilted and crushed so as her soul.

She did not know though that a group of children saw her. They wanted to help her out but they felt helpless and weak. As soon as the men went away, they helped her out. She felt so ashamed of herself and was hesitant as they tried to heal her wounds. After her parents' death, she never had someone to take care of her.

They went with her on to her castle and made sure she was well rested. After few meetings and teas, they became friends.

Although her heart was crushed that day, she had people who made her feel okay. At times she would feel melancholic, her little friends were with her sharing her burden.

Background of the artwork

I seldom make artworks that do not signify anything about me. The brush seems like the extension of my soul and the paintings reflect much (at times just a bit) of my feelings.

Like I mentioned, I feel a bit melancholic now. It has always been like that the moment when my sister passed away. I was able to recover from her death, but it seems that I remained spaced out a lot. Often times, I resort to sleeping because this pensive sadness that I had been feeling makes me feel more empty. And often times, it makes me overthink on some aspect of my life.

Whenever I feel melancholic, I sometimes feel I am alone despite the fact that I had been surrounded by wonderful people around me. My mind and soul tend to wonder on dimensions that only I can dive into. It has also been my wall from the real and harsh world.

Process of making this artwork

Process time: 20 minutes

Materials needed:

• One and only stem of Rose I received during Valentines day
• Acrylic and Oil paints
• Brushes
• Recycyled Frame that will also serve as our canvas

Since the rose meant a lot for me, I included it on the materials I used.

I initially painted our painting area with white acrylic. When I found out it was a bit thin, I added another layer of it.

I did not use pencil for this art project but instead used chalk pastel to make an outline for our subject. (1) Using a trusted glue brand, I glued the rose carefully. (2) I started painting the face with flesh colored oil paint. I wanted to apply expressionism so I wanted the features not to be definite. (3)

I added dead twigs of a tree using green paint. Later on, I will add purple to make it darker. (1) The hair is painted with yellow to complement with her burnt skin. (2) Without using brushes and only my finger, I added details with different colors. (3)

I added few minor details to give a 3D and voila! And I am done!

Which part of the process is your favorite? Mine is when I used my finger. It was fun although it would take a long time for me to get rid of the oil paint on my hands.

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If you happen to have not voted for witnesses, vote now for @steemgigs (under @surpassinggoogle's initiative) and kuya @precise! They aim to empower different communities more.