So, in a burst of inspiration, (and in a complete departure from my previous two concepts!) I finally came up with this finalized painting for the Beautiful Grim breast cancer charity art auction that harkens back to my bubble girl paintings: explorations of otherworldly environments where symbolic elements such as oxygen and water compete for sustenance. The deadline is TODAY and I finally got the whole thing finished and turned in. Whew! It was getting down to the last minute there! Adorned with a melting crown of textured coral that threatens to drip and tragically melt everything along with it, stands my "Beautiful Grim," a remarkably strong and beautiful woman who has learned to breathe underwater against all odds in order to survive. Wearing a glass explorer's bubble, her face is defiantly immersed in an oceanic microcosm full of fish. Just realized this is the first OIL PAINTING that I’ve completed in 2010, as well as the first oil on canvas I’ve painted in about 8 months! (which is quite shocking for me as I’ve been paining in oils obsessively through the last decade and beyond.) Ever since my trip to Iceland 8 months ago, I have been experimenting with painting primarily in watercolors. Hadn’t realized it had been so long since I’d painted in oil!