ww.Mermaids Everywhere

I'm not sure why I got so singlemindedly-focused on mermaids for this month's ATC exchange, but it happened as soon as the theme of the exchange was formal - or even before, since it influenced the theme of the exchange. I guess it's that SunnyNole and I had talked about mermaids - and so I didn't even really think about other avenues -- and I'm a tad sorry about that because I realized after futzing over mermaids again and again in the last week or so that there was another really strong "at water's edge" symbol for me that I should have pursued. Ahhh... but, I've been working on these "girls" ... a lot... so, I'm not ready to start from square one again for this month. And, as always, I've come to be a bit attached to a few of these girls. I am so excited that I have the recipient I have, and SunnyNole and I are also trading cards. So, in the end, I think I'm going to be happy with this month's crop. I'll have to figure out how to wrangle that other symbol into my interpretation of another month's theme!

The big one has also been busy doing some ATCs to trade privately with a few other young artists. I'm a big fan of the dragon one (with the photographer perched and snapping a photo), which was the first of this round of ATCs. Then he got the idea of what he calls "Bolt Town," and all the others are aspects of a "Bolt Town" series - completely his own concept. The ones with a central image (or so) work best in the ATC size, so he's moving that direction. I love them in pure black and white, but coloring them in is sort of necessary (I think) for the age (so the recipient "enjoys" them). It's a step that always makes me nervous though - doesn't seem to bother him! They are all in color now, in fact. This shot was snapped just before he grabbed them and got focused on transforming bolt town to a world of color.

(I don't normally show much of his work - even though I often talk about what he's doing. But, with the ATCs... I figure I can share now and again.)