A Family Affair

From the moment this mom contacted me, I was beyond excited to tackle this project!   I found a large, beautiful frame, and we started to create her vision!   To begin, she emailed me her children's drawings (she has 4 boys and 1 baby girl).  She knew she wanted each child to add something to this picture and as we looked at their drawings together, we designated to a different aspect of the painting for each one.  

Managing to meet during the crazy time of Christmas, add on some sick kids, and select dates when we could meet, I think we managed pretty well!  Don't you J?  :)

Our first session began with her oldest...who would be responsible for the people, the most detailed and time consuming of the project.  I had re-painted the picture with a backdrop so it was ready to go.  Here is the picture of the artwork before the project, and then the painted backdrop (the print was removed and painted over). 

The white spot marked the house!

The sketching of the people, and placement, and sizing took patience and "J" did an amazing job of following guidance AND had such a great natural ability.  I was so impressed by him!  We decided to have one of the boys sitting which "J" thought was a good choice because, "He does lay around a lot."   Ha!  Mom, I don't know if you agree, but it made me laugh!  

Starting to paint!

We finished up some painting on our first session.  Here is where we stopped:

Our second session was very productive!   "J"  had such a natural ability!  I was impressed with his use of the paints and his fine motor skills.  He was a very careful artist and able to do everything except paint the eye details, which I added in later based off of his drawings.

Next, little brother "J" came over to work on tree trunks and branches, clouds, and the house.  He was also a quick study, and so smiley!   Here are some of his additions.

I love the look of concentration!

Ready for the little troops!

Now we were ready for the finishing touches, so we called mom and she brought over the littlest 3 artists.   "C" was next and was very excited to paint his beautiful grass, flowers, and the "corner sun" which has been a favorite of this artist lately... I think he nailed it!   Great job "C"!

Nice grass and flowers "C"!

Mom thought up the perfect way to involve the 2 youngest ones....leaf handprints!  Our last 2 artists added the element of drama to the painting, right mom?!   Sometimes when you are little and tired, painting your hand is just NOT the plan you had.   "T", I hope you are not too traumatized!   If it is any help, the handprints are adorable!    Baby sister "E" was more intrigued with the hand painting, at first....then she also decided this hand stamping thing was NOT for her.   But again, those handprints are TOO CUTE!  So thanks for the sacrifice "T" and "E"!  (It was a little crazy at the moment so no pics of the actual "painting" ha ha!)

So cute!  Look at those little hands!

Happy family!

This painting will be so special for mom to enjoy for years to come.  I love that she can see the involvement of all her kiddos when she looks at it!   It is a perfect addition to the family playroom!  Enjoy!  And thanks to this great family for participating in a very fun project!

Just LOVE it!

What a great project, with GREAT kiddos!  

 Thanks to this great group for a wonderful experience!

The Fairy Garden

My impression, before actually meeting my next artist, was that she was this sweet, shy, little girl.  I was right about sweet, but shy?  No!  This girl was a walking, talking party!   Her art sessions were full of smiles, laughter, and great bubbly conversation.   And her ideas!!!  WHOA!  Here's the story on this girly project:

Mom wanted a pop of color, and "B" just wanted to paint all things GIRL and have "lots of color!"   We found a frame and painted it white with a whimsical background.   "B" did some sketches of what she loved, and here is what I had to draw up an idea from....very helpful!  I think you'll see all the elements of what she drew implemented in some way in the painting.

GREAT PICTURE!

THE CANVAS IS SET

When viewing her picture, I was so drawn to what we ended up naming the "fire flower"  I loved how she mixed her colors and created that shape!   When we met, she informed me that it was an accident, so I told her that sometimes in art, accidents are the best ideas!  We then named them fire flowers and got to work creating loads of them because I was such a fan.  She had fun learning how to mix the paints and blend the colors.  The result was really beautiful!  

Next, I took inspiration from the colors of flowers she had chosen, and sketched big flowers on the other side of the painting.   She then, painted in the sketches with the chosen pink and purple shades.  We also added the leaves in the same way.   So, flowers, check!

WHERE WE STOPPED AFTER THE FIRST SESSION

When it came to her fairies, I asked about toad stools and she loved it.   But this girl knew what she liked, and asked about the rainbow in her picture as well.  I didn't think it would work in the sky with this concept, but the brilliant little artist did not miss a beat!  "How about a rainbow toad stool?"   Love it!   Absolutely love it!

The butterfly was all her sketching and painting, and the fairies were a shared venture...again, those little hands with small detailing is difficult.  But I think we captured her drawing so well!  And I was so impressed by her ability to paint the small details on each fairy.   She was a natural!   She suggested the fairy shoes and added them in with the "tiny, weeny fairy brush!  It is so small!"   She also thought up adding the "lily of the valley" for the fairies to hold.   This girl knows her flowers!  

Just us 2 girls, hanging out on toad stools!

I do have to admit my favorite part of this process was learning that I had made it INTO my first painting.   The brown haired fairy was painted in and I said, "Look, it's you!"  to which she responded, "and the blonde one is you!  We are in it together!"   Okay, I seriously love this girl!  




After our second session, this is where we ended.   So we met one last time to add in some more detailing with the grass, and greens.   Here is the completely project.

EXCELLENT JOB "B"!

Once again, an opportunity for fun and learning for a child, and an opportunity for me to get to know another great mom and family!   I thoroughly enjoyed when this smiley little girl came over!   And loved getting to know this great family as well.  We'll have to do another masterpiece together soon!  Great job "B"!  

2nd grade artist

I love a new idea!   So it was great fun to work with this mom and son.  I loved getting to know them both better, and thoroughly enjoyed this art project from beginning to end. 

 
We began by meeting at a thrift store 10 minutes before closing, choosing out the right size of frame and print for our project, and the process began. 

This mom had a vision and was great at communicating it to me.   She sent 3 images via email to me to show the style she envisioned, as well as colors.   "J" knew he wanted to paint a city scene, and mom knew what she wanted that night sky to look like.   Emailing images before paint sessions is very helpful for me to understand what you want the finished product to look like...so I felt pretty confident we could create something ideal for mom!

We met briefly one afternoon for "J" to draw some skyscrapers for me.   I wanted to understand his level before we started the painting process.   I knew from this first meeting that "J" would be fun to work with.   He is super conversational, and totally makes himself at home, which I love!   He is also very observant, walking around and pointing out pictures in my house he saw on-line.   Very cute!

After our drawing session, we were able to schedule a painting session and it went off without a hitch.  We started the sky- mixing mom's choice colors and working with a large brush to create the style she loved.  The pictures show the final touch of "J's" moon with a smaller brush.
After the sky, "J" pencil sketched the skyscrapers.   We took some time to view images together on-line and he really loved the silloutte image that resembled the Seattle Space Needle, as you can see in his final picture!  That is what I love about working with these artists...they have a vision too!  

I helped him with adding a dimensional look to the buildings and we also worked on adding the lit up windows to the painting.   Our final addition was a touch of red (per mom's request), on top of the buildings and splashes in them as well.  
And after about 1 1/2 hours, the painting was completed.   I then, repainted the frame and re-set everything for them to pick up later.  Beautiful job "J"!  I have a feeling we'll be creating a new art masterpiece sometime soon!

Pre-schooler art session

O's older brother had so much fun creating his painting, that this little guy was excited to do his own project.   His mom decided the Christmas Countdown would be the perfect, age-appropriate option for him.  She was right!   

This happy little guy came over one morning and we began.   A Christmas tree made with various slanted lines was a perfect choice for a pre-school level.   Here he is, adding the greens on the tree and painting the yellow star.

What pre-schooler doesn't want to finger paint?  
Also, as years go by,
mom can remember the "ornaments" were his thumbprints!

I added the chalkboard, and painted the print and bows.   We also found a frame for it which set if off nicely.   Now he will be able to practice his numbers each December!   Thanks for a fun morning "O"!