Nursery Mural - Where the Wild Things Are

It's been a while - getting pregnant and having a baby sort of threw me off my artist game. While I haven't been broadcasting, I have been working where and when I can. The big pregnancy project was the nursery mural.

Maurice Sendak has an interesting illustration style - it's rough, emotional, jagged and yet still fluid. I learned this by trying to mimic his pen strokes with a brush. I did okay, but leave it to the master to come up with such an interesting landscape.

Acrylic on white walls. Max is about 4'x4', the monster is about 5'x7' and the forest is a wrap-around landscape about 10'x15'. It took all my paint! Wore down my brushes and I spent about five, eight hour days on it. As we're entering toddlerhood, my daughter has begun pointing and talking about it.

Want a nursery mural? Pick your images and I'll put in on the wall free-hand. $35/hr plus cost of supplies.

Willamette River in Autumn, Pastels

I haven't picked up pastels in awhile but they are so much easier to deal with when trying to capture something outdoors. Every year the autumn leaves start changing and all I want to do is sit around and paint and draw. This dream is rarely realized because every fall I still work full time and am usually taking classes part time. This morning was a rare treat with a dry autumn day, a homemade pumpkin latte in a to-go cup and my sheltie hanging out next to me while I attempted to get the artistic fires burning again. The blue flame is the hottest, I think I did okay for my first piece since summer. It was cold, and the crows were barking at us the whole time, which made it that much more of a beautiful autumn day.

Steel Bridge and Cherry Blossoms

I can hardly believe it, but I finished a painting. What's funny about the evolution of this painting is something that always seems to happen - I begin with something light, airy and pretty and end with something of a darker persuasion. It almost feels like a fall painting, although the subject is so clearly spring with those cherry blossoms. The Steel Bridge in spring, with it's heavy iron girders and timeless boxcar train running through:

Steel Bridge and Cherry Blossoms, 2013, oils on canvas, Fiona D. 

I've been thinking about Edward Hopper recently, and how all of his paintings contain such loneliness. I believe I heard him say in an interview once that he was a bit puzzled by the loneliness that came out in each painting. Then I see something like this and wonder what we 're all hiding from ourselves that only art can tease to the surface: http://www.edwardhopper.net/newyork-movie.jsp

It feels good to finally see what's been ebbing. I'm a happy person, but constantly in silent awe of the depth and complexity of the world around me. I don't find it overwhelming me with sadness anymore. I've finally learned to just let it flow through me and I'm finding that the contrast of the darkness makes my life that much richer.

While I stood on the waterfront getting the sketches that were the skeleton of this painting, I was passed and slightly surrounded by homeless people. When I looked to the left, there was a homeless encampment, like a modern-day hooverville, just under the Burnside bridge. When I looked down into the water, I could see floating hypodermic needles, empty beer bottles and other trash. So, I just looked ahead, at the dripping cherry blossoms and the peaceful river running under the bridge. Perhaps that explains the brooding feeling.

In any case, with this painting finally complete, I can finally breath a sigh of relief and take in a breath of inspiration as I look towards my next project...

A Winslow Homer Recreation for my Aunt

My aunt and her significant other love fishing, I'm talking die-hard fish lovers. I hear stories how he had no money and just ate what he could catch at the ocean. It just so happens that one of my all-time favorite paintings is a painting by Winslow Homer called, The Fog Warning. It's a beautiful image of a man heading out to sea in his little row boat. He clearly caught some fish this day and he looks over his shoulder at the approaching weather and powers forward. It's a beautiful statement and skillful work of art. I don't pretend to hold a candle to the likes of ole' Winslow, but that didn't stop me from wanting to study his method on this one, which turned into a lovely gift:

 

Poorly cropped, I know. What's your favorite fishing painting?

Follow My Art Board on Pinterest

I'm collecting all  my favorite art on Pinterest. If you're on there and love art, follow my board:

http://pinterest.com/feebird28/art/

If you've got a great art board on Pinterest, share in the comments.