This Christmas, to commemorate the passing of my wonderful Grandma Gertrude 10 years ago, I did a couple portraits of her to give to family members.
I had wonderful source material - my mother had taken a series of beautiful black/white photo of Grandma years ago, so that was my starting point.
Making the paintings was a wonderful experience for me - it actually felt that I was both honoring her memory and communicating directly with her over the last couple days as I perfected her soft cheeks, her direct gaze and her arthritic hands.
My grandmother was a dear woman, greatly missed by all who knew her. Love you Grandma!
Grandma Gertrude with patterns - portraits from photography
(Pictured above, Red Balloons - original acrylic painting on canvas, 12" x 12")
Another to add to the moody series - this one more melancholy a bit sad and reminiscent. Dead tree, floating balloons, small red heart. What does it make you think of?
Finished up the second moody blue canvas last night. This one I am calling Ice Storm.
Pictured above, Ice Storm - 12x12 canvas, acrylic
Working on some new canvases - kinda moody. Here's the first one, "Blue Night", 12x12, acrylic.
In the spirit of the holidays, I've started developing a series of small paintings suitable for holiday gifts and stocking stuffers. The prices are marked to fit into any budget - small original acrylic paintings and mini framed prints starting at $35.
Also available of course are sets of assorted greeting cards - sets of 4 for $13, and sets of 8 for $25.
More small paintings are in the works - stay tuned!
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The original inspiration - photo taken at the Indiana Dunes
It's been a very long time since I worked in acrylic - however I was at Michaels Crafts the other day and saw some sales going on pre-stretched canvases so I thought I'd give it a try. Luckily, I still have loads of paint left over from the last time I painted in acrylic, which must be at least 5-6 years ago.
Now what to paint? I thought immediately of a photo I'd taken on a recent trip to northern Indiana - sand dunes central. I had forgotten how much fun acrylics can be, and this subject with the wind in the grasses lent itself perfectly to the task. What a huge difference from working with watercolor!
Watercolor requires planning and patience. You paint a bit, then wait for it to dry, then paint some more, and so on. Mistakes are very hard to fix, sometimes impossible. You learn to make the most of "happy accidents", but they're not always so happy.
Acrylic painting by contrast is much more immediate - you paint what you see. If you don't like something you can just paint right over it. I have to say, the easiness of painting in acrylic was a welcome change!
I have loads more canvases, I can see this becoming a "thing".
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