the First Time Mother’s Joy

This is the first time I’ve done a painting in about 6 years, and the first time I’ve touched oil paints in almost a decade, so ‘scuse the rustiness and lack of technique.

Some very close friends of ours, Joe and Katie are expecting their first child this summer, and I really wanted to do something special, and personal for them.

First, I’ll give you some pictures of the space I’m working in.

The 'library'

The dining room, now a makeshift studio

I wanted to paint something that would appeal to small children, but also have an ‘edge’, hints of a fairytale darkness that would last for a few years in a children’s room, as mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve always been a fan of the darkness and more twisted imagery in children’s stories.

I started with a very loose sketch, just to give me a feel for composition and flowing the shapes together.

From there, I was able to start ‘drawing’ directly onto the canvases with a thinned acrylic burnt umber. You can see that I decided to move the figures, to give better balance to the piece.

And that, for now, is where I’m at. It’s still very early in the painting process, but I’m pleased with where this is headed. I like the subject matter, the composition and my choices of a colour palette.

I just hope that the parents (and baby!) like the finished thing too…

Horses for courses

People often ask me (okay one person once asked me!) “How do you draw in Flash?”. Well, I found it very hard to start with as I was constantly fighting the ways the tools worked. But I soon realised that was part of the strength – Flash helps you to draw, but you need to change your style a little, and your approach a lot.