Dryad's Dance

Watercolor on Fabriano hot-pressed 140 lbs, 4" x 9", December 2012.

Model reference: [link]

My entry for 's Stockaversary Contest [link]
~ The theme of this contest - how you see yourself or the world around you - gave me a tough time. I'm extremely introverted, and the idea of putting myself out there like this stopped me in my tracks for several months. Most of the ideas I came up with were too half-baked, too depressing, too involved. Nothing felt right. And then, the more I stared at the lovely stock photo from Faestock, the idea of a dryad snapped into my mind. It's quite fitting - I've always loved trees, often more so than I care for people. Whereas all of my bird-loving friends and family are always watching the sky, I'm looking at the trees. They come in so many shapes and forms, sizes and colors, I find them endlessly fascinating. And as a mythology geek, I've always found dryad lore among the most interesting myths. Surrounded by sunlight and fresh air, dryads lived separately from the chaos and confusion of humanity, unaffected by it. I've often wished for that, too!