''Shhh, I'm hiding!''

"When spring comes, fairies can be sighted throughout the forest of Rúndawald. Legend has it that these maidens' common ancestor was a butterfly that once got trapped in a spiderweb and was rescued by a human woman who had ventured into the woods. Feeling gratitude towards the tall being, as well as admiration for the strange paws that had just released it from its silky prison with such skill and delicacy, the butterfly wished to become like her.
But be careful what you wish for in Rúndawald, for the forest is a magical one. While the butterfly itself never saw its dream come true, its offspring's appearance started to shift with each new generation, looking more human and living longer. Eventually, the time came when, upon leaving their chrysalis, the butterfly's descendants were tiny, simian winged beings, neither fully human or butterfly.
While most fairies regard this story as a mere tale, some of them believe in its authenticity, and have come to resent their supposed ancestor for plaguing their kind with what they deem a curse."

An old work (April 2020) that I never managed to finish until now.
At that time, there was a strict lockdown in France, and since I couldn't go to my favorite forest path, I had to stick to an alley that was lined with rows of blooming Prunus trees (Prunus Malaheb specifically) and hawthorn, with a lot of butterflies fluttering here and there. I loved both the sight and scent (white blossoms smell incredibly good, a bit like sweet almond), so I was inspired to paint something with a lot of these tiny flowers and a fairy.

The downside is, the piece has a plain, centered composition (I only started paying attention to composition this year, which can be seen in my two previous deviations since they both use the Golden ratio). So I tried to keep it interesting with the position of the secondary elements.
The pic may also look cluttered to some people, especially since I added that lush background afterwards, but I personally don't mind it: I recently learned that my brain is very detail-oriented (so much that I broke the local record when I took some cognitive tests at hospital, lmao); and I was told that, instead of trying to suppress it like I would always do, I should embrace and nurture it, even in my art. So... deal with it B) My knack for details didn't prevent success anyway: my piece "The Summoner" was cluttered too, especially regarding the vegetation, and yet it ended up being one of the sixteen semifinalists in the Artist Avatar contest   

Anyway, I like the tones. It's been ages since I wanted to combine white, pink, light blue and a dark greyish green in a work.

Last year's versions (I kept the outfit and flowers as they were instead of repainting them):



Other works:
      

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