Traveling Art and the Non Traditional Canvas

Traveling. . . probably my favorite passion besides art. So much so that I've even made a "Trucket List" to be accomplished before... well, we won't get into those morbid details... get it? Trucket? Travel - Bucket... you get it. Solid gold.

As it has been foretold (by me) many many times, I simply adore people. What better way to love new people than to experience a different world than the one I live in? Cultures of the world are fascinating to me. Unfortunately I think I have two very strong opposites to my personality. There is the homebody that loves staying in and keeping her roots planted firmly. Then there is the over-anxious, go-getting Gypsy that just won't shut the hell up... she's the one that tells me I need to do things NOW and go for a drive at 3 o'clock in the morning. She gives me itchy feet... but not literally. That's gross.

Airports are so exciting to me! Bigger = better = more people to observe. International one are the best. When I was a measly 20 years old, I went to Budapest. It was my first international trip and I went it SOLO... not as scary as one might think. I was going to my Hungarian Sister's wedding (she was our exchange student in 1999) and to stay with her and her family for a few weeks. It was an absolutely fabulous adventure! But before I left I had an itchin to do some serious overhaul on my suitcases. Yes, suitcases...

When I graduated high school, my ever loving grandmother bought me a fabulous luggage set. She knew I had the travel bug and got me the one thing I had high hopes of wearing out with over use. Fortunately, for me, they were patternless. 5-pieces of blank black canvas waiting for some serious pizazz... it took me a few years to work up the nerve to actually paint something on one and when I did this is what came out...

I started with my carry-on bag. For those interested in doing this - beware: suitcases soak up paint like no other. I had to paint 30 some odd coats of a base primer in the shape of my design before I could even start. That was the longest prepping session ev-er. When I could finally rock them with some color  I had a blast! Of course I had to put in my favorite fish - the Black Moor - which is just one of the umpteen billion subspecies of Carassius auratus... AKA the goldfish.

Now, the front piece is an original design by me, but the back... well I borrowed that. I say borrowed because the design is not like I found it, I tweaked the design to suit me. This little geisha was originally a fairy... lame, I know. I've never been one of those girls that was into fairies. As a child, Barbie was awesome and mermaids were definitely plausible as far as I was concerned, but never fairies. A human-like creature one billionth the size of a leprechaun with the power of flight? Inconceivable!

I viewed the back piece as being more of a coloring book opportunity for my suitcase, and I absolutely adore coloring books. The image is a little juvenile sure, but hey - I was barely out of my teen years. Just be thankful I'm not dressing like a Hello Kitty doll... today.

Cheerio!