Happiness is only real when shared

Happiness is only real when shared.- ‘Into The Wild’

Thank You for making this contest! Its lovely topic ‘Give The Gift Of Art’ made everyone stop for a moment and really appreciate all the precious and irreplaceable people in their lives.

 In the moment I read the terms, instantly I knew who to devote the gift to- my best friend Galia who I have known for 13 years (since we were 3). I have spent all my childhood with her. We went through dreaming, playing, laughing and crying together which made our relationship so strong that the word best friend seems too weak to describe it. Sadly two years ago I had to move from my country (Bulgaria) to London with my family. It was a great shock for us because all we knew was going to change. We were scared by all the thing people say about long distance friendships and how the relationship will slowly weaken. One of the hardest things to say was ‘Goodbye’.

Two years have passed now and I am so thankful to say that we even strengthened our bond even if we see each other only for a few weeks during the summer holiday.  These few weeks are the best times of my life, filled with adventures, laughter and comfort.

This digital piece represents us and the adventures we have had or dream of having. I chose foxes because I love the way they find a soul mate and stay together for life. Also I use them as a symbol of our love for animals (cockroaches included) and the orange fur stands out really well on to the green background.

The tree is a symbol and a big part of our childhood as well as our friendship. We used to spend all summer climbing on trees and making tree houses. I made the tree very thick and solid which represents our strong bond.  

The background represents our dreams of traveling and adventuring into the nature together. Also represents the countless visits to the mountains and lakes during the time we are together.

The waterfalls are the flow of life. They split sometimes but at the end they all join together in a bigger lake.

I painted this digital drawing on a Bosto Kingtee 14wa. I have used only painterly and basic brushes, no ‘waterfall’ or ‘tree’ brushes. Some textures I have done using very low opacity personal photo references of tree bark or rock texture taken during my visits to the mountains. I then paint on top of the low opacity texture on multiply and soft light layer in order to fix lighting and things I don’t like.

Sorry for the long explanation but I get really passionate when talking about Galia.

Thank You Galia for being the bestest friend EVER! I hope you like your gift.^^

 I wish a lot of luck to all of the contestants!