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.

Cactus Wall Mural

This week I created a patterned mural for a baby nursery.  The goal was to create rows of cactuses to create the look of wallpaper.  I used fluid acrylics which can be watered down to mimic the look of watercolor.  

With these paints, I was able to create a washy look with a variety of lights and darks which gave the cactuses a more interesting look.

Before I started painting the cactuses, I cut 2 different cactus shapes out of paper to use as my outline. On alternate rows I flipped the cactuses in the opposite direction which helped to create 4 different silhouettes.  

As you can see, I was pretty happy with the results!  My friend gave me a charcoal facial in the during my time painting and she commented on how well I was "multi-masking!"  :)  

This room is a really fun and unique boy room with so much texture and energy and will be a room he can definitely grow in!

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... 

New Merch Shop!

I am so excited to announce that I have partnered with Society 6 and opened up a new merch shop! This partnership allows me to offer prints, canvases, and an amazing range of fun and beautiful products that features my whimsical paintings. I will be adding other products to my shop in the near future, and check out the other products available now and see what grabs your eye! https://society6.com/taradeetscreek

"Her Boxed Beaded Gown"

Recently, I was part of a local art show where this painting entitled "Her Boxed Beaded Gown" was displayed.  I met a local couple where the husband was a visual artist and the wife was a poet.  They had the idea of combining art and poetry together in a show!  They gathered a group of artists together and gave each artist the book of poetry called "Solitary Spin" written by Barbara Sabol to read.  We were to choose a poem from the book to use as inspiration for our art.  I found this poem called "Circa 1943" in the book and used it to paint from.  I used metallic paints on this one which gives the entire painting a beautiful shimmer!  This painting is now up for sale on my website and can be purchased HERE.

Circa 1943

by Barbara Sabol

Day Dreaming on the side of Prospect Hill

my mother is caught by some Eddie with his lens

before the swirl of champagne, before the dishwater swill

(years before she waltzed with my father in her beaded silk)

my mother was caught by a beau, quick with his lens;

some Eddie, by the flirt of her eyes in the sepia still,

years before she waltzed with my father in beaded silk

she posed in her swim skirt, chin in her fists, a slight head tilt--

flirting with some Eddie, one eye squinting behind his lens

while she posed in halter top and swim skirt, her head at a tilt

(before the dusty attic moths have had their fill 

of her boxed beaded gown, its yellow silk.)

Before the attic moths had their fill of silk and lace

she sold cufflinks to my father at Swanks, downtown.

He whirled her around the hall in her beaded gown

and danced her down that hill, leaving just a trace

of her teenaged sepia image, blurred to white at its edge

like the swirl of champagne and an unbroken waltz;

caught in the gaze of the luckless him, whose camera left

the ghost of a girl dreaming in the long grass of Prospect Hill.

Custom Birds Nests

Back by popular demand for the 4th year is my custom birds nests!  In case you missed these last year, here is a little info on what these are about.  I make 9X9 inch mixed media paintings on canvas of nests with eggs representing children in them.  There are many customizations that I do to make these little gems as personal as possible.  These make great Mother's Day gifts or any day gifts and look great on a collage wall! These will be for sale for a limited time through May 6th.

1. Number of eggs- Depending on how many children are represented, I can paint as many eggs as you like!

2. Size of eggs- You can have larger eggs painted representing children, or smaller eggs painted to represent grand children.  Or you could combine and do both!  You can also use the smaller eggs to symbolized miscarried babies if you wish, I ask that you email me first to request unique customization like this before ordering.

3. Color of eggs- Depending on whether they are boys or girls I will paint either blue or pink.

4. Speckles- This year I am offering the choice of either brown speckles, or gold speckles if you are looking to add a little bling.

You can order these nests on my website www.taradeetscreek.com or by clicking HERE.