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!

The Intricate Artist

This painting experience was an honor for me.  An honor because I was able to get to know an amazing family who live their faith so beautifully and share God's love so openly.     "H" was adopted into this family when she was a kindergartner.   I highly recommend you read her mom's blog because you will be inspired and touched by "H's" story and how she met her mom and dad and brothers.   It made me cry!   But it is not my story to tell....it is theirs.   Here's the link:   

 http://mancubsandaprincess-becca.blogspot.com/ 

Enjoy!

Mom and I spent some time determining goals for the painting "H" would do.  Mom knew she wanted the picture to feel warm, and have a strong tree, representing the family unit.  She also wanted unique foliage, demonstrating that while family has one strong foundation, each person is unique and beautiful in their own right.   And together, well, this painting is extraordinary!  

Prior to our first session, I was told "H" was detailed, and precise.   The concept couldn't have been better for her.   It would take time and attention to detail, and "H" was incredible.   Only in 2nd grade, this little girl could paint for hours!  Really!  And still want to paint more!   She continually impressed me with her talent.   Our sessions were so peaceful and relaxed as we chose out colors, and styles of flowers together.   She had a wonderful sense of color and was truly a collaborator in decisions regarding the foliage.   

To start out, I had the tree sketched in and the ground sketched as well.   Our first session was a good "get to know you" and also allowed me to see how she painted.

This is where we ended after our first time meeting:

The next session I realized this detailed lady needed a new type of brush.  Here she is working with a new brush on the tree- and it made a huge difference in her confidence to paint faster.

We finished the tree and then, after we painted in the colors of the earth, I had "H" pencil sketch in flowers.  For the landscape we were going for a simpler look since the tree would be full of color.   She quickly mastered the style of these flowers.

 You can see her sketches here as she paints them in.

Next we added interest with more colors.  I showed her some different ways to make the middle of flowers and then she chose however she wanted to fill them in.  One has a smiley face!  CUTE!

For the red and purple flowers, she did the middles and I painted the petal lines.  She then thickened each petal.  You can see her adding the depth in this picture.

 Some purple stripes, and then we called it a day.  Below you can see where we wrapped up.  I love how after the first session picture she is just smiling a little bit, and in this one I have a grin...wait until you see the next one!  I think her excitement and pride grew each session!

Today was flower day.   This would be the most time consuming part of the painting but well worth it.   And flowers are SO MUCH FUN!  We just slowly added color and kept building off of it.  There were X's to mark where we would put each one.  I love how comfortable she looks in this picture as she paints.  So sweet!

Okay- look at her here!   LOVE THIS PICTURE of her!   

By the time we began working on the flowers, "H" was starting to get to know me better and I her.  She is incredibly sweet and creative, with a natural knack for knowing what colors would look good with what.   She was so conscientious while she painted, always careful and precise, which made a perfect match for this artist and a painting full of intricacies.  The joy and curse of this project was that both H and I love painting, and kept wanting to add more and more detail to this project.  Oh- how about this color?  This design?  and on and on we both went, until we hit a wall and had to stop our madness!  Ha! We would paint a flower, work on another, come back and add more detail to one, like it, and add more detail to another, and on and on.  So did it take time?  Absolutely!  Was it worth it?  ABSOLUTELY!

Adding more detailing.....

I love her smiling while she paints!

Here you can see how I would add lines to show her where to fill in petals.

She looks so happy and proud...as she should be!

Adding a cool new flower idea below...we had so much fun creating!

Adding squiggles...this one ended up being one of "H's" favorites!

 Time to stop for the day!   WOW!  Just. WOW!

We were coming to an end....which was kind of bittersweet.   I loved our relaxed afternoons, full of creative fun!   We added on eight more flowers in our last session, and built up some others, adding more color and detail.

We had talked about what type of flowers to add, and "H" mentioned the crown shaped ones.   Perfect addition for the fields.   Love your crown flowers sweetie!

Adding on one layer.... and then....

  One more.....

Truly a labor of love "H"!  I'm so incredibly impressed by your ability, and my heart is warmed by your sweetness!   We finished the day after mom's birthday.  Perfect gift!    Enjoy it!  And thanks mom for sharing your story with me and also the opportunity to work with your gifted daughter!