The Canopy Drive

Okay, this painting is amazing.   The picture quality is NOT!   Without natural light, I apparently can't photograph!   This beauty was finished in the evening hours so I seriously struggled!  I'm going to argue that the painting makes up for that.   It was done by 3 siblings, the youngest is an eighth grader, then a senior in high school, and the final canopy was done by the oldest is who was the first painter I worked with that came over in dress clothes after work (internship).   He will be finishing UWW after this fall.  This family is super artistically talented (obviously!) in music and arts but this was the first time they really delved into acrylics.   I completely enjoyed watching the painting progress and working with all of them.  

8th grader "M" was first up, and she was hesitant to start.   I had her begin with the sky so that she could feel more comfortable working with the media.

Then, after her confidence with the paint was better established, we moved to painting the barn.   We discussed shadowing, blending, and paint techniques to achieve the right look.  Then she went to it!

Awesome.

While the barn was drying, "M" added in some base colors for the road.

Here is where we wrapped after her first session.  For session 2 we moved into more details (eagles, flag, etc.) and then a base color grass.

I was loving what I saw!   You were amazing "M"!

  High school senior brother was next up and during his painting session he dealt with a small baby crawling around and lots of kid noise.   However, I think he was pretty engrossed in the process, so while I was going nuts, I think he zoned it out.   He put in a few of the tree trunks by the barn and another flag pole.     When his brother painted, he ended up going over much of this work, but "M" you can forever claim the barn tree trunks and flag!   They are yours!

  

 I have known this oldest brother from years ago when he played drums for a VBS I organized.   It was fun to get to know him again and watch his artistic process.   He has a natural eye for color, and I loved how involved he was in creating the painting.   Also, I came to love his musical tastes and still listen to them constantly on Pandora!   If you haven't heard of Icarus Account, I highly recommend looking them up.  

First up was the foliage by the barn.  Don't worry, the flag was taped off to preserve it!

  Hmmm...I realize I snapped a lot of pics of the painting itself, but only have a hand of the artist....I improved upon it on our following meetings!

The canopy progresses.  You can see here the painting building as well as a variety of corporate clothing as we met multiple times after work.  Enjoy!

Awesome build up!  I was getting so impatient to see both sides in!

Okay, now I was contented.  This picture is such a better capture of the foliage than the one at the top of the blog story!  

Our final session was a shift in techniques as Marshall was going to be doing the shadowing on the road and grass to really complete the painting.   Look at the difference from the image above to the one below.  Awesome.

Small details.

And painting is complete!   Just wow.  Beautiful!  Watching this come together was so fun.   I love that this painting captures mom's favorite place!  Enjoy it for years to come!

Expanding Artistic Horizons

"N" and "A's" little sisters worked on this painting for their kitchen with me this August, and mom decided after they finished, "My boys should try out having something in their hands other than a baseball glove and bat."   "N" loves fishing and "A" is a talented b-ball player, so mom chose images of their interests.  And boys, I grudgingly (sigh) accept that painting will probably not be on your list of favorite hobbies.   However, that said, you both had awesome attitudes while working with me, and quite frankly, did a great job!  Wall space is limited in their room so we went with 8 by 10's and used a texture paste as well.  Super cool results!

For the first meeting, the boys used texture paste to add some interest to the paintings.   "A" worked on a baseball and "N" a fish.   This part was done with palette knives and bamboo sticks.

Hard to see since they are white, but in the next steps they come alive!   Still, that step was so awesome "N"!

For "A's" second meeting, he followed my tips so well, and created a great painting, using many different techniques.   The texture actually made painting the ball easier because the lines were already there for the red string.  

Love it!   My words before this picture, "Smile like this is the best thing you did all summer."    He indulged me.   I'll make it up to you by watching a game!

"N" actually had a more detailed image to paint.   He took his time and the results paid off!

There was lots of colors and blending to work with.  Awesome job "N"!

 

 This pic was so dark so I enlarged it to better see artist and image, Again, the smile of, "Yes, best thing I did all summer."   These boys are so amiable!

Very cool!