So this week's theme was kind of tricky for me, as somebody not familiar with Australia. So finding the right subject to paint took a bit of head scratching...

After the first few fiasco ideas like kangaroos, Opera house and boomerangs, I remembered a scene from Finding Nemo, when Marlin and Dory arrive in Sydney with the "help" of a whale, and Marlin finally grasps the concept of "letting go", which literally sets him free...

The film uses a stunning night scene of Sydney flooded in the silver light of a gorgeous full moon, while the whale is swimming away playfully.

And that idea clicked.

The background story for this image...

There is a birch tree in front of my window, that used to have many little birds as visitors over the summer. For about 3 months now I put on the windowsill seeds for them and watch their crossed lifts and landings so similar to an airport. Over time, I even come to recognize some of them, by how they look or behave...

All these little birds bring so much color and hapiness into the grey cold days of winter... I wanted to dedicate them this image, as a thank you and appreciation for all they offer to us.

The background story for Whimsy...

For those who know the Friends series, there is a song that Ross was singing as a little boy:

I am Bea,
I drink tea,
Won't you dance around
With me?

For some reason, when reading the week's theme, this little song started playing in my head. What followed was "Bea" metamorphosing into "bee" and then the two ideas (of Bea drinking tea and of Bee) merged into one and created the image you see here...

Hello there, long time no see...

So what's new with you? Me, I have decided to try out some of the prompts in the 52 Week Illustration Challenge. As the title suggests, there is one topic for each week, going on for an entire year.  Below is the list of the 2017 prompts.