Whimsy and Wine

It's been that kind of week, ya know?  Where circumstances make you just want to escape.  And despite social distancing, I have a vast realm where I can explore void of disease and politics:  My imagination! So I grabbed a cell phone image that was sent to me, poured a glass of wine (not that this is needed, but hey, I'm not driving), and sat at the computer to begin the image.  

Since I love to stalk images on Pinterest, I did see one that piqued my interest, one of a girl in front of a bear.  Perfect!  I had my client (okay, my sister) take an image of her grandchild on the floor, with several prompts.   I had her place the child, Paisley, by the window. I instructed my sister to sit eye-level to her and take several shots, preferably with her mom or grandpa in front of her acting silly.   I then went through the images to get the one the best told the story.   

But then I needed a bear.   I didn't want a stalk bear....I wanted my own animated plush toy.   I asked my husband to hold up the teddy bear near my light source (in this case, a window seat).  He's used to me issuing unusual requests.   And, God love him, there are many. 

After sketching out my idea on a piece of paper, I started working on compositing the image together. It really wasn't complicated.   A great deal of painting was involved to bring details back to certain parts of the image and to soften others.  At first, I did not incorporate the balloon, but wanted to bring more life to my bear, which I puppet-warped in photoshop to bring him to "life".   The balloon teases at the reality of this artificial scene. I chose a oval presentation to play into the balloon floating outside of the frame. Because, why not?  We don't always have to color within the lines. 

In short, creating this scene was a fun diversion, and adds whimsy to an otherwise regular day. 

Enjoy...and keep creating!