Door County by the Grandsons

I was able to work with these 2 little artists a second time for the other set of grandparents!   This time we were painting an image from a photograph of Door County, WI in the fall.  As soon as mom emailed me the image, I was excited to do this project.  I had been hoping to create a fall tree scene just like this one with some kiddos, so couldn't wait to start!

"L" came over first, complete with his winning smile!   He painted the road, tree trunks, branches, and even made "squiggles" for the bark.

 "L" is using long strokes to fill in my outline for the road.

Next he filled in the tree trunks with different shades of browns and grays.

 Then he filled in the base ground color....

 And some "squiggles and shading for the tree trunks.....

Looking good!

 Now it was "G's" turn to do LOTS of painting.   I had him use a brush and blot with multiple colors.  It was time consuming, and I was so proud of him and his commitment to detail.   Sometimes I would blot an area for him to fill in, and sometimes just point out where to go.   After 40 min. he was yawning.   Definitely a sign to take a break.  This boy needed to run off some energy and come back in the afternoon!   Here is the first part of his session:

Adding greens.....

 It takes LOTS of blots to fill in those leaves!

Here "G" is overlapping lighter shades on top of his darker greens....

 You can see why he would get tired!  One corner area was finished, but so much left!

I love that he came over wearing his little sister's baby rattle bracelets!   Love it!

 Starting to fill out!

 Pensive artist shot.

 Okay, time to break!  Look at how much he did!   Wow!  This is where we left off until the afternoon.

In the afternoon, we continued more blotting with colors and light, dark varieties of shades to fill in the fall scene.    I was and am so impressed with this little guy and his ability to following my guiding, and create such a beautiful scene!

 We flipped the painting upside down for easier work!

 More greens!

 Completing the road.....

 WOW!

THE FINAL RESULT!

These 2 happy, smiley guys were such a joy to work with again.   I love their masterpiece and I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa will too!

Grandparent Gift....Landscape with 4 little artists

Two awesome sisters and their four, fun little boys decided to create a very special anniversary gift for their grandparents.   Grandma and Grandpa were asked where their favorite travel location was, and they said Windermere, England.   Some research was done to find photographs capturing the wooded lake and surrounding area, and we decided to base our painting off of a fall image.   Here is the story:

First off, sweet little "L" came over to begin the painting.   I was greeted with a smile and so much excitement with this little painter.   He was a great start to the project.   Since he was one of the two younger ones, I assigned the water and sky to him.    You can see where I traced the area he would paint. 

   I taught him to use straight short brush strokes for the water and he filled it in beautifully!   The sky was next.

 GREAT JOB "L"!  You were so sweet and I loved how excited you were to paint, and to be FIRST!   The best ever!

 Next up was little "G".   He was going to do the base colors for the mountains and land.   Again, you can see my tracing line and where he would fill in color.   Here he is, working away.   This was my first time meeting this little extrovert.   He kept me laughing with his hilarious comments during his paint session.

 "G" got to mix and play with different colors too.  

 Looking good!

 This is where "G" ended up.   Another great painter!  The base was finished, and now it was time for the older cousins to come in and add details.

 Here is "L's" older brother and distinguished Pre-K graduate, "G".   He began his work by shadowing in the mountains.  He was great at following directions and was a careful and detailed artist.   Look at his determined painting face.

 Where little "G" created the base, big "G" added more dimension and color to make the painting pop.

 You can already see his handiwork bringing this landscape alive.

 Adding some more touches.....

 You can see his use of different types of brush strokes for the far off trees. Such a great listener!

 Then some more detail in his brother's sky......

 Too bad this picture is blurry!   Look at his cute proud smile!

 And now for the final artist.   "S" came over and with his casual, cool, charm, he began creating trees.  Mom, you better watch out with this smooth guy in the future!

 Lots of green, for the deciduous trees....

 Then we started filling in some fall shades for the rest.....

LOTS to fill "S"!   You did great!

Love this picture!

 This was where we stopped before a lunch break....

 What it looked like in the frame before "S" came back for some touch ups.....

 After lunch, "S" returned to fill in some more color.....and cover up a couple of blotches from little "G's" sessions :)  (see the black in the water...)

WOW!  Looking amazing!!!!

 Big "G" came over one more time too, to add more dimension to the sky....and then we brought it over to show the moms and sign it.  

WOW, boys!  I can't wait for you to give it to Grandma and Grandpa.  Truly a priceless gift!  Thanks to these awesome moms for thinking of Little Picasso's for a unique and special gift!