I'm through accepting limits
'Cuz someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I'll never know!
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
Well, if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost!

I'd sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down

So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately:
"Everyone deserves the chance to fly!"
And if I'm flying solo
At least I'm flying free
To those who'd ground me
Take a message back from me

Tell them how I am
Defying gravity
I'm flying high
Defying gravity
And soon I'll match them in renown
And nobody in all of Oz
No Wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down!
-Portions of "Defying Gravity," from Wicked

I know, I know, I was supposed to finish up my other projects, but after listening to the Wicked soundtrack several times, I really wanted to paint Elphaba (the name given to the Wicked Witch in the novel by Gregory Maguire). Here are some pictures of the "Defying Gravity" scene in the play: [link] [link] Also, a clip of the song from the musical: http: // www. youtube .com / watch?v= PKzdCFmjuG8 (without the spaces; stupid dA turned the = P into , thus ruining the link).

Wicked is just amazing. I've seen the musical twice, read the novel, and listen to the music often, and I can't seem to get enough of it. It's a terrific story that will make you laugh, gasp, and cry. At least, the play does; the novel is much darker and heavier, and it is actually quite different from the play (but still great nonetheless).

Wicked is still on tour, and if you want to check to see if it is coming near you sometime in 2008 or 2009, you can check here: [link] I HIGHLY recommend seeing it; the show is worth every penny spent. Of course, the soundtrack is fantastic too, but a listener who hasn't seen the play might not understand the context for several of the songs. Plus, one of my favorite songs "The Wicked With of the East" is not on the soundtrack due to "spoilers." I can only listen to it through crappy quality videos on YouTube that were illegally taped during the show (there are TONS of Wicked videos on YouTube).

I'm actually really proud of how the finished product looks. I think I've gotten better at Photoshop. It was fun to paint green skin, and I even made the lines green to fit the theme. When drawing Elphaba, I went along with the description in the novel that her face was angled and sharp. Though, I made her too pretty (I have a tendency to do that).

Elphaba (c) Gregory Maguire and the producers of Wicked the Musical
Texture (c) [link]