Drawing for a New Painting

While I'm still waiting for the new studio space to be ready, I'm having fun working on smaller paintings that I can fit (and light) comfortably in my current workspace.  

I really enjoy the little Rocketscapes, but it's even better when I can get some figures into the composition as well. Bouguereau paintings set in the Rocketscape universe, I guess. 

I just finished this 12x16 drawing, and will be transferring it to a 12x16 panel next week.

The reference photo was taken on the same grassy hill as the photo I used to paint the portrait of Esme' last month. I really enjoyed painting all the tall grass and wanted to have another go at it. I also really liked the dynamic pose and thought it would be fun to play off of.  

My favorite part of these smaller pieces is finding a way to weave a little bit of narrative into the composition, especially if it requires the viewer to ask a question that might not be entirely answered in the painting. That little bit of mystery and a chance for the viewer to fill in the missing pieces is half the fun. My oldest daughter already asked about the two moons. I asked her what she thought. She came up with three different stories in a matter of a few minutes. 1) "Is it Mars, but now there are plants there? Mars has two moons, right?" 2) "Maybe it's Earth, but a long time from now, and a big asteroid is now in orbit with the moon.) 3) "Wait...maybe it's just a planet like Earth, but really far away.) She didn't even get to the question of where they're going, what they see in the distance, etc. I love this stuff.