Creation of a Phoenix ~ The Reveal

Rising
24"x36"
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Finally the moment you've all been waiting for has come!  
Meet Rising.
At least for the moment that is her working name.  Funny how sometimes a title or name comes to either myself or muse #2, aka my husband, easily and other times we struggle to name a piece.  With my last piece, Calliope, her name came to me as I was just starting to paint her.  Rising has been completely the opposite.  There are 2 other names in consideration.  Seraphine which stands for Burning Fire and Katness from the Hungry Games ~ Girl on Fire.  Please feel free to comment which of the 3 names you like the best.
 
The interesting thing when I first started painting the Phoenix a year ago this is what I had in mind from the beginning.  However, it took 7 tries to finally get there.  With each one of them I learned something different which eventually culminated in Rising.  She was not without her challenges.  For instance the blue background was repainted 5 times till I finally got the "right" blue.  Looking at the left hand wing I struggled on that for weeks where as the right hand wing seemed to just flow.  There were a couple of other spots that definitely had me swearing more then once!  In the long run she emerged just the way she was meant to be.  One thing that kept going through my mind as I was getting close to finishing her was this strong feeling she may be the last Phoenix I paint   (at least for a while).  I felt like as an artist I had finally had my "rebirth" and was ready to move in a new direction that I've been longing to explore.  As I was closing in on this painting the universe gifted me, literally, a free spot in a 4 week online painting course called See.Feel.Paint Expressive Faces and Figures which started in mid-November of last year.  It was an incredible course which pushed me out of my comfort zone and brought my hidden desire of painting the face and figure front and center. Now I am not so intimidated by the subject and have begun to explore the it wholeheartedly!  I'll be sharing my creations from the course with all of you in my next few post. 
Until then, please enjoy "Rising"!
Don't forget to let me know which is your Favorite name 

by commenting in the comment section below?
Rising
Seraphine
Katness

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Creation of a Phoenix ~ Part Three

Fear not, this will be the last bit of teasing.  I think?

As I painted this 2 foot by 3 foot piece there were times and sections of the painting that just magically happened.  Then there were times and sections that gave me labor pains for days on end!  They say each new painting is like giving birth and at times it sure felt that way!  
It is actually quite uncommon for my paintings to have more then one layer.  Which is a rather an uncommon way to paint.  But that's just how I do it.  Most of the time.  On this painting however, there are a few sections that have 5 or 6 or more layers on them I repainted and repainted and finally the muse released what she was looking for.  Hence, one of the reasons this painting was in labor for a very long time. 
Now you can understand why I had to tease you just a wee bit.  
I promise that I will unveil her with my next post.

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