Tag: Painting

Whippo Playground, Nostalgia

My step-dad showed up a few weeks ago asking me to paint a picture of the place where he grew up–not the house but the playground nearby. It wasn’t a very scenic spot and there were lots of changes to be made to make it “like it used to be”. It turns out that he was once part of an informal gang who would hang out there, climb the water tower, play baseball, and create havoc for the folks nearby. They are meeting up this weekend at the sports bar we went to earlier this month which is owned by another of the former crowd. This painting is to be there as a reminder.

I was nervous about it because in general I prefer to paint people and their doings and water towers aren’t high on my list. However, after standing out in the snow taking pictures from all angles then buckling down and getting it done, I found that all the males in my life ADORE water towers. I find that very odd. Both my husband and son wanted prints of it and my stepdad was absolutely in hog heaven when he saw it. Go figure.

Doodle-a-Day:2-8-08


I am relatively happy with this one–not perfect but all right considering my hands hurt today.  I am really happy with the look on her face, which is the look she had.  Vrry tricky with such a small space to work with.

My hands were really hurting by the time I finished this one so I didn’t finish it completely.  The background and bottom are unfinished but it is time for me to stop so I will be able to type tomorrow.  One of the big things with having RA is knowing when to quit.

I will probably not do doodles over the weekend.   Instead I will start up again on Monday, God willing.

Doodle-a-Day:2-6-08

Once again I am not completely happy with this one–the sketch came out very different than the painting–which is fine, but I couldn’t get a good photo of the painting so it is kind of weird and missing the focus on positive and negative space and contrast that I was going for. However, I am going to go ahead and post them anyway, and force myself to continue to do so, just because I need to get over myself. I find using a small pad tricky–I am used to large spaces to work and the tiny pad and pencil/brushes that are bigger than I want aren’t helping me get the affect I am going for.

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IF: Blanket

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Just playing around with some on the spot sketching–the kids were huddled up under a blanket watching a movie. Got a new watercolor block–4 by 5 inches–much smaller than I usually work with–also picked up a pen to try some outlining. Not sure I am happy with it but it was fun, which is the point. 🙂 Spent more time trying to photograph it than I did doing the painting.

IF: Plain

Thanks to Mike Leonen I am joining in on Illustration Friday this week. (I do feel a bit out of my league but decided to use this to push me beyond my usual style. In other words this is just for fun and maybe it will get me out of my rut. :)) So, this is not my usual more realistic style nor are these my normal materials—my mom got me these watercolor pencils and paper for Christmas (I usually use tube watercolor paints or oils and block watercolor paper.) It was fun and let me play a bit which is something I don’t normally do–I am too serious when painting. And so, without more ado, my interpretation of this week’s theme:

A plain apple in a plain tree with a plain sky on a plain hill.

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Business

For those who are interested, I have a new button for my art site–as I mentioned I am pulling back from doing the web design work due to health issues and wanting to focus on my artwork, this button reflects that:

If you are interested in putting it in your sidebar let me know and I will send you the code.