Bird of Paradise Sprite

I had this one almost done yesterday, but just couldn't get around to finish.  I was doing a lot of driving for my daughter and her BFF for the BFF's birthday shopping spree, etc.  ^_^  Well, I might as well enjoy their company while I can even if it's as a chauffeur because they'll eventually be off to college and I may not be seeing them as much as I would like.

I did another digital coloring of a sprite.  My daughter called my art "quite bipolar".   I never quite looked at it that way, but I have to agree. ^_^  After all, I go from dark goth stuff to fluffy sprites on a regular basis.  The pendulum swings from one extreme to the other.  I do enjoy all sides of me and my art, though.  I am comfortable whether I'm drawing a skull or a baby fairy.  ^_^

Bird of Paradise for a sprite was requested a while ago by a few people.  At one point, the list got to be so long, and I did pump out 30+ sprites last summer, so eventually, things slowed down a bit.  And it's also easy to get stumped with a sprite's character design, depending on the flower.  Some are tailor made for being turned into a sprite, while other flowers, as beautiful as they may be, some aspects of them make it rather difficult to design into a sprite.  Case in point - Queen Ann's Lace.  I still have no idea how I'd go about that one.  Cluster flowers (hydrangea, snapdragon, QAL, etc.) are generally tricky.  Overly vertical plants like delphinium and hollyhock are also a headache.  On the other hand, flowers that seem to have a 'face', like pansy, daisy, sunflower, are much easier to come up with a design.  Flowers with trumpet-shaped blooms are also easy as I can use them as hats on sprites. :D  Calla lily was one of the hardest until I got started.  Sometimes, inspirations do strike at the right moment and everything is easy sailing.  ^_^

Bird of Paradise Sprite's design came to me quickly, once I sat down and imagined the flower.  Unique shape of the bloom called for a bold headdress on the sprite.  ^_^  I really enjoyed giving it bright, tropical colors in warm shades of yellows, oranges, maroons, and purple.  The nature's wonderful sense of balance is apparent once again, in the flower's uniquely angular shape with bold colors.  As a child, I loved all kinds of flowers, and was a very young gardener, spending what little allowance I had on seeds and plants from a nearby nursery.  They still hold the same magical charm, and I never tire of the endless of beauty and wonder they bring to my everyday life - in my garden, in my vase, and in my illustrations.