JANNA VANDERVEEN

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This painting captivates me. I find myself contemplating the untold story within its layers, only to grapple with the feelings it evokes, ones of sadness, intrigue, and wonder. The forest looms, yet is beautiful. The princess appears to be lost and alone, yet is accompanied by her faithful friend (the bunny). Her bunny seems trapped, unless it climbed onto the branch to nestle in the crook of the tree’s arms, to better… Read More

I had a vision of a girl standing between the trees with her bunny, staring out at the world. She was neither happy nor sad. Accepting, I think. Maybe somewhat lost and alone. But ultimately, I knew that she belonged in this forest of light, where peace, love, and beauty abound. Girl in Forest, Janna Vanderveen 2017

I recently stumbled across Canadian painter, Melissa Mckinnon’s artwork.  I have long-loved incorporating finger-painting into my artwork, as evidenced by my previous paintings, and felt inspired to try and paint my own birch/aspen tree.  I completed this painting on an 8 x 10″ piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper and used a variety of acrylic paints as well as modeling paste for texture.

Sometimes  I splash inks, watercolors, and acrylics onto paper just to see what happens. Within the chaos an image usually forms, and in this case, I found fan adorable little fantasy creature. What is she? A who’s it, or what’s that, or whatchamacallit? You tell me. Regardless, I fell in love with her flower filled hair and tail puff, her tiny fairy wings, and her big eyes.