⚜️ UNDERSTORY: This piece began with an old piece of rock maple my brother gave me and my husband graciously agreed to turn into a frame for me in his woodworking shop. After mulling over a design for ages, I finally put the proverbial pen to paper—in this case, pyrography tip to wood—and then spent what felt like years burning the design into it. After working with that wood, I can tell you rock (aka hard) maple is very aptly named!
At the time, I thought I might just make decorative frames, so it hung on my wall for months. One day, however, I watched an illustrator on YouTube make a gorgeous painting in oil pastel, and I KNEW that was the next step for me and these unfilled works. I had to paint with oil pastels! Naturally, I bought the biggest set from the most reputable brand, justifying it to my husband as a legitimate art expense. After all, surely I'd need all of those colors at some point in my illustration career - ahem.
But deciding what to paint inside it was another matter. Many more weeks passed before I found what belonged there. One evening, I saw a luna moth fluttering against our kitchen window, and that was it! I sat down that night, and the luna moth simply flew from my fingers onto the hardboard panel. (I actually use my fingers as the brush when painting with oil pastel.)
Some pieces take ages to work out. This one seemed to know exactly what it wanted to be. It has been one of my favorites ever since.
