Island in the Sky

This summer I was commissioned to do a 5ft X 5ft Curiosity Portrait but without an actual portrait. My Curiosity Portraits are heirloom paintings, created on commission, and painted specifically for the individual.  I interview my clients to learn about their life and what makes them unique.  I then go back to my studio and find symbols and elements from my interview notes that I will then use in my preliminary sketches.  After brainstorming creative ways to combine the various imagery, I begin.

The first thing that I painted was this whale. I’ve never painted a whale before and, I must say, it was my favorite part to paint! I asked her “what scene of a movie or book would you step into if you could?” She told me that she would step into the movie “Man on Fire” where a bodyguard fought for a little girls life. She loved the relationship he had with the little girl and how he gave his life for her. She talked about the memory of the time where she was on a swim team and didn’t feel like she could make it to the end of the lap. Her dad came to the edge and told her, “it’s ok, you can stop swimming.” She always wanted that kind of male presence to keep her safe. I represented this male presence with one of her favorite animals, a whale. She loves how majestic they are. The whale is rescuing her and will be holding up everything in this painting that represents her.

When I saw the wall in the home where this painting would be hung, I noticed the design on the chairs in the room. Incorporating the design around the whale gave added a graphic element and also added some movement and depth to the painting.

Then I painted a wash of blue over the entire bottom of the painting.

She asked God if she were to be an animal what would she be, and He revealed to her that she would be an owl. I loved painting this great horned owl on top of its own little garden island.

She has always wanted to see a hummingbird nest, and now so do I!

One of her favorite flowers is the hydrangea…

Her friend had a vision of her in a garden as a flower. This flower was no ordinary flower, but one that was larger than life! In her vision, God told the flower “I love you, you are one of my favorites.”

This flower was the most time consuming element in the painting. To give you an idea of size, it’s about 3 times the size as my head. I probably spent about 30 hours on the flower alone! I layered colored pencil, paint, pencil, paint, and so on, until I achieved the desired look that I wanted.

At some points as I worked on it, it was very meditative and soothing as I worked on the repetitive petals, but there were some times that it was really hard to push through and work because it was feeling monotonous. Working on art is a very good discipline and it is a good feeling when you push through the hard parts and stand back to see what you have accomplished in the end.

She requested that I incorporate these butterflies and I let the blue sky peak through the wings since it was the exact color that I needed for the butterflies. I surrounded the flower with the butterflies to give glory to the flower. I represented God’s favor on her with the gold dots falling from the heavens onto the flower.

One of her favorite things to do as a child was to swing on her swing in her garden…

Incorporating this caterpillar was another request…

This is a photo of me and the painting before it was stretched and framed.

Here it is in its new home! It was such an honor to do this painting and I can’t wait to paint more Curiosity Portraits in my lifetime. If you are interested in having me paint your story without words, email me at taratories@gmail.com.

Oh The Heart

This week I had the privilege to be featured in a wedding blog found on www.ohtheheart.com  which featured different ways to preserve your wedding bouquet... make sure you check it out!  Featured on there were my custom watercolor wedding bouquets which I love painting so much!  I can work from any photo to bring you a beautiful painting that can be cherished for years to come.  

What makes these paintings so special?  Flowers are such an integral part of your wedding, but after the wedding the flowers die and most of us throw them away.  That's why preserving your bouquet is so important and really makes a lovely gift for yourself or someone else.  Here is where you can find out more and place your order for one today... 

"The Polar Plunge"

I have always loved polar bears.  I could watch them swim in the water all day!  I decided that this would be the perfect animal to paint next!  First, I sketched out my composition. I wanted the polar bear to be as close to life size as possible.  During my research, I found that polar bears are about 4 feet standing on all four legs.  I was able to make him close to life size being around 3 feet tall.  He felt HUGE when I drew him up on the canvas and I loved the grand presence of him.  For some reason, I always want everything I paint to be as life size as possible, whether it be people, etc. and, in this case, animals.  It is so much easier to capture all of the detail in my subjects when they are larger, and then I almost feel like they are in the room with me and a part of my space.  

I began my mixed media painting with my first layer of colored pencils which is a great way to map out all the lights, darks, and variations of color before I lay down the paint.  My mixed media technique is unique in that I layer pencils, then paint, then pencils, etc. onto my canvas.  It really creates a beautiful depth and atmosphere to my paintings that I wouldn't be able to achieve in the same way with using paint or pencils alone.  Drawing has always been my first love and years ago I found this mixed media technique that has suited me perfectly. It was magic the first time I ever tried it and I have been obsessed ever since!

I was a little nervous about painting a white animal because sometimes it can be tricking creating the variations of tones in white, but it really helped starting off with a tan base so that it wasn't so intimidating and helped create immediate contrast between the white I was laying down on my canvas.  One of my favorite things about doing art is studying a subject through painting it.  I never would have realized that there were so many different colors in a polar bear's fur, or that lines form where clumps of hair separate (i.e. hand and head).

The next animal was a bearded seal.  I had no idea there was such a thing as a bearded seal until I started to research animals to paint.  But once I found this kind of seal I was set on painting him!  I love all the long whiskers they have and they were just so cute! He is missing half of his face here but this is the work in process...

I developed the seal more and submerged him in some painted water...

I wanted this painting to have a nautical feel to it so blue and white stripes seemed like the perfect pattern to incorporate.  It took me some time to figure out the best place to incorporate the stripes. In my sketchbook I made a few pages of thumbnail sketches playing around with placement and colors etc. until I arrived at this... 

Florals and stripes are a classic pairing and the flowers were a great way to add some color into this painting since my animals were very neutral.  I used the flowers as a repeating pattern in the background and used my paint without much water to create a soft texture to the flowers.  This is a dry brush technique that I don't think I have used on my canvas paintings before and I really like the way it turned out.  It gave the flowers a kind of velvety look.  Painting the fur has been a wonderful way to show me that I can create a variety of textures with my medium and makes me want to explore other textures.

The final step was to paint a blue background around the flowers and really help make the bear pop.  It sure did!  After I laid on the blue, the white of the polar bear was a striking contrast and I couldn't be happier with the result.  I added a gold edging to the circle and gold dots for some embellishments in the background which is the cherry on the top for me!

The finished painting is 30X36 inches and is available for purchase.  Email me at taratories@gmail.com for any inquiries at all about this painting. It will be on display locally to the Akron area next month. More details to come on that so stay tuned!  If you don't want to miss a beat, send me your email so that I can get you on my email list. I don't usually send more than one email a month but it is a great way to stay in the loop about local shows, art sales, etc.

Reflecting: Wales Residency

Yesterday started off with some time in the studio working on a new painting and also ended the day working on it.  I am on my third painting and I am really excited about this one!  I headed next door for lunch.  I'm now a regular at Andy and Adam's!  

I had the most AMAZING carrot and ginger soup there which helped warm me up.  I feel so cold all day long here and I long for the moments that I get to warm myself up with soup or a hot drink.  

This is what the street looks like right outside Maelor.  I love this street.

After lunch Yuki and I went for a walk that ended up being about 3 hours long!  

This is a local old chapel that is being turned into art studios, so we heard.  My dream!

We saw more sheep, some cows, some great stone buildings, and a beautiful mossy stream.

We stumbled upon this old post office that is for sale!  We peered in the windows and it was gorgeous inside!  It was a long room with a wood burning stove on either side and a spiral staircase right in the middle of the room!!  If I didn't have a husband and children to go home to, you bet I would be buying this place and never returning.  

We were heading to the old slate quarry and on the way was this old telephone booth so of course I had to have a moment with it.

We stopped to read about the history of the slate quarry then trekked on the footpaths to get to it. The slate was surrounding us in every direction.  It was on either side and underneath our feet.  I just LOVED the sound of the slate underneath my boots as I was walking.  It was a very satisfying sound.  I video taped the sound so I would always remember it. 

The size of the hole in the mountain was monstrous...

I collected a few things along the way to press and I just happened to open up the bird book to the owl page which is ironic because that is what I was painting yesterday.  I have never painted an owl before but as I did I began to really learn about the form of an owl and all of its details.  Every time I paint something I have never painted before I learn more about it as I study the subject.  To me, painting equals learning.  It is easy to look at something without really studying it, but with art it forces you to take note of every detail.  I felt like my walk today was a little like this.  When you are in a car you don't stop to study the world around you.  On foot you have the chance to be a student of the world around you.  Every time you touch the moss, pick up a fern, feel the smooth slate, watch the light hit the mountainside and move as the sun shifts, listen to the sheep bleating and the water dancing over the rocks, you are a student.  A student of God's artistry.  His amazing, awe-inspiring artistry that I love to capture on my canvas.  Although I can never be the level of artist that God is, I love learning about what He has presented us with and reflecting it as best as I can.

Adult Art Classes in Full Swing

These past couple of months have been busy with adult art classes in full swing! I had 3 themes for my art classes.  First, I held 2 classes with a "Watercolor Hydrangea" theme.  I taught the women how to do a watercolor painting of hydrangea flowers using a technique called "negative painting."  

With this technique, you paint in layers around your flower blooms to create depth.  It is so fun and kind of magical!  The women really enjoyed seeing the flowers come together through this layered process.

The second class theme was "Zentangle Umbrellas."  First, we used turquoise ink to create a rainy sky.  This step of the process was so spontaneous and fun!

Next we drew and shaded the umbrellas, and finally created the Zentangle patterns with pen and ink.  I loved the way they turned out!

The most recent class theme was "Fall Crafting and Cookies." During this night we decorated pumpkins using hot glue to create our leaf relief designs.  Then we painted a couple coats of white chalk paint on top of the pumpkins, and then brushed the gold paint on top to give it the finishing touches and bling that every girl loves.

During the drying time we decorated pumpkin cookies and drank apple cider.  This was a great time to socialize and connect with new friends.  It was also a great way to celebrate the beginning of fall!

"Instagraham"

I just finished a painting today of a beautiful mother and child.  I have found that the type of art that brings me the most joy to create is the kind that I have the most connection with.  I may or may not know my subject that I am doing a portrait of personally, but either way, when there is a mother and child in a loving embrace such as this, I feel instantly connected.  God blessed me four times with babies to snuggle and with each child it was a magical experience.  What I would give to go back in time and experience those tender moments again...

I took this photo of them when this baby was about a month old.  The fact that she was a first time mother made this moment I captured even more special.  

I worked in my medium of a mixture of fluid acrylics and colored pencil on canvas. Layer upon layer, and wash upon wash, I developed this painting and brought it to a soft and dreamy place.

For this custom painting, she requested blues and greens along with hydrangeas.  I incorporated hydrangeas in a more subtle abstract way in the background which gave some depth and texture to the painting.  I snuck in some bird silhouettes and added some touches of gold, of course.  These are two signature elements I feel MUST be included in the portraits that I do ;)  I played around with the composition with this painting and placed the mother and baby off center and coming out of the corner. I was pleased with how it turned out and I can't wait to do more!  I am taking orders for mother and baby portraits, but these orders will not be started until 2017.  To place your order email me at taratories@gmail.com or click HERE.  

"instagraham" 20X20