Beyond My Wildish Dreams

I have a rabbit that lives just outside my back gate, nestled under a wicker garden table that any responsible adult would have put away for the winter.  Actually, my friend Sherry did put it away when she tidied my yard for me, but ungrateful brat that I am, I drug it back out, because Bunny lives under it.   The only time I've seen her out in the open since summer, aside from the other day when I spooked her trying to get this photo, was the last time I had a flat tire.  That morning, she was laying in wait for me in the middle of the back lawn, and calmly watched me the whole time I changed it, not at all bothered by my crashing and clattering about.  Even the occasional application of swear words (medicinal purposes only) didn't faze her.  Most people (most grownups) I know don't like rabbits in their yards, but I love having this sweet creature guarding my back door.  No wild carrots will get past her watchful eye!

Beware of Guard Bunny!

Now, there's a dreamlike image to contemplate.  Come to think of it, I've actually seen some classic nursery art featuring dancing vegetables in the moonlight.  Yikes!  That could give a kid serious broccoli-phobia!  But I digress.  What I'm hoping is that over the next week, while I sleep, my four-legged friend will wander (hop, leap, bound) through my dreams and give me some inspiration for the animals in the Unity of the Valley children's mural.  I've completed as much as can be done, up to the point of including animals, and now I seem to be stuck. 

The artwork thus far is so much more stylized than my usual realism, that I haven't yet been able to get the animals to come off of the brush.  Oooh...there's another dream image, if you let your imagination follow that thread...(really, let your imagination follow that thread for a minute.  This post will still be here when you wander back).  So far, what's come off of my brush has been realistic forms in wild colors, or very nearly classic Disney, neither of which is what I'm aiming for.  Grrrr.

Time for some wildlife to peek from this rain forest dreamscape!

Any of these attempts would have made the client perfectly happy, but fortunately for me, this is one situation where there is no real deadline, and especially because the mural happens to look like a finished panoramic scene already, it can take as long as it needs, without bothering anyone.  I rarely get to create something completely my own vision, especially on this scale, so I'm enjoying the process of letting the art unfold at its own pace.  Okay, that's not entirely true.  I'm trying very hard to go with the flow, but to be honest, in case you hadn't caught it already, I'm getting frustrated.  Tonight, I'm hoping that my vision picks up its pace just a bit, and rabbit comes, leaping and hopping on a moon shadow, to clarify how she and her friends want to appear in this technicolor landscape.  And so, I"m off to bed.  To sleep, perchance to dream...

Dreaming up something wonderful for me to paint on your walls?  Most of the time, the process isn't so drawn out, and you can find reassurance from happy customers on the references page of my website.  theartofthehome.com.

Got any suggestions for me?  Send them via dream rabbit delivery, or simply click on the word "comments" below to leave them.  You can also email me at dawnmariedelara@gmail.com.