Monday, November 12, 2012

Hot Air Balloon vs. Flying Piglet

(Card of Shadow Dancer Balloon)
I recently went on a road trip in October from Minneapolis to San Francisco to visit friends, family and the western part of the country. We stopped in Albuquerque, NM to visit some folks and we able to be part of the amazing International Balloon Fiesta there as crew members. We helped unroll the surprisingly delicate giant balloon called, "Shadow Dancer"; pilot William Manus directing us and several others the whole time. William is a local firefighter and as such, our ride to the fiesta as a vintage 1960's fire truck! Inspired by this unique experience I created this illustration in gouache paint on paper, putting my own spin on one of my photos of "Shadow Dancer". I am selling the original painting as well as using the image on some greeting cards that I sell at Simply Jane in the store and local craft shows. It was a great event overall that I will never forget; watching the sun crest over the dark mountains at 5:00 am, and waiting for the wind to be just right for him to take off. Then the amazing sight of hundreds of hot air balloons slowly filling in a huge green field and then lifting off into a stark blue sky!