Old Friends and New

The first Hayao Miyazaki film I ever saw was Kiki's Delivery Service. A friend lent me her VHS copy of the film when I was in high school, and I wasn't sure what to expect. But as soon as I heard the first few notes of the score over an enchanting scene of a young girl laying in the wind-blown grass staring up at the sky, I fell in love. Everything about this film, to me, is perfect - the hand-painted backgrounds, captivating story, and especially that magical score by Joe Hisiashi that somehow transports you to that seaside town - makes Kiki's Delivery Service one of my favorite movies. I wanted to paint Kiki in my own style, and of course I had to include birds! One reason I love this movie so much is because of the message that Ursula teaches Kiki, about how art and the ability for a young witch to fly both draw their power from the spirit. Sometimes you lose your 'power' and feel like you've lost everything, but it always comes back. Here she is flying with some old friends (Jiji her cat, a goose, and some gulls), and new friends (the crows who were quite an enemy until she befriended Ursula). This is an original watercolor painting on soft-press Fabriano. The painting is 10X10 inches, and it is double matted in white and blue, and comes in a black 16X16 inch frame, as shown in the second picture.