I redid my grandson’s portrait

Pencil in

Grandson

I was never really happy with the first portrait I did of my grandson, so I decided to do another one.  He is almost two now and is such an expressive little boy.  The reference picture came from a local park where he was riding a rocking yellow duck and obviously having a great time.

I think this one came out much better.

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Finished home portrait

Pastel portrait

Due to the size of the portrait (14″x9″) and the fact that it is a brick house, I decided to go with the pastels this time around. The gloss fixative brightened everything up and the deeper contrasts helped make up for the lack of color in the landscaping.  There are some flower boxes on the porch, but I do wish that there was more foliage under the first floor windows.  This was a surprise gift from a business associate so I was unable to ask the owner what might have been there in the past and  add it in.  The person who commissioned it was happy, though, and interested in me doing a few more, so that is a great plus.  I reminded him that if any were to be a Christmas gifts, he shouldn’t wait until November because I might be busy already.  We laughed and I hope he heeds my advice.

 

Home Portrait Commission

Home portrait

Inked

I received a local commission this month for a lovely two story brick house in the older section of Bloomington.  The woman was moving away from her long time residence to be closer to family and someone wanted to give her a nice memento of a home she had lived in for many decades.  It was a bit hard to get the pictures because it was to be a surprise, but stealth prevailed and we got the job done.

I wish there had been more colorful landscaping in the front, but I have the feeling she was no longer able to keep much up exotic landscaping.  There are nice flowers on the front porch, however, to add a little pop to the picture.  I also like the little wrought iron fence on top of the doorway and the curved railing.  They are fun little details and add visual interest.  I am coloring it with pastels instead of watercolor.  It was a larger size and I like doing brick with the pastels as it gives a richer color than the watercolors when the picture is bigger.

Mr. Turtle linocut

Box turtle linocut

When I decided to make another linocut after the Japanese maple leaf one, I once again fell to the pleasure of my box turtle friends.  I recently determined that there are actually 2, if not three Mr. Turtles wandering my flower beds.  I knew for sure that I had at least two when I was able to definitely identify two separate shell patterns.  One had the markings more splotchy and melded together than the other, which had rather distinct stripes.  There was a size difference too.

I think the one depicted here is Mr. Turtle Jr. with the slashy stripes.  Mr. Turtle Sr.  is quite a bit bigger. and has the more muddled markings.

Mr. Turtle III is marked with a combination of the two others.  Also, his size just seemed to be off of what I recalled of the other two.  Smaller maybe and he seemed to be leerier of me than the others, pulling himself inside his shell when I approached.  The others just kind of look up at me and stay out as long as I don’t try to pick them up.  Whatever.  He will get to know I mean him no harm if He continues to visit.

The Waymire Building Finished

Watercolored Waymire

The Waymire Building is finished. While not as colorful as the previous Boise businesses, it is appealing none the less.  The red trim makes a nice accent to the white building.  The shop “Hyde & Seek” takes up much of the first floor and is filled to the brim with an eclectic variety of items.  We enjoyed wandering through and making a few purchases the last time we were there.

Next up is a local house portrait.It’s a lovely brick two story and it’s owner is moving away after many years of residence.

Waymire Building

Pencil drawing

All inked

After doing all of that abstract flow paint work because of the acrylic class I took, I decided to head back to Boise for some architectural subject matter.  I chose the Waymire building in the Hyde Park area of the North End.  Constructed in 1909, it was designed by John E. Tourtellotte who also designed the Idaho State Capitol building, St. John’s Catherdal in Boise and numerous other major buildings in Idaho.

The Waymire now houses a delightful little antique/speciaty shop named Hyde & Seek on the first floor.  Did you notice the wings that hang on either side of the doorway?  Fun and eclectic items abound inside the entrance.  We cetainly enjoyed our little excursion there and even bought a couple of small things to bring home.

Japanese maple linocut

Japanese maple print

After I sold several linocut prints this spring, I decided to cut a few new ones.  I wanted to experiment with some new printing papers at the same time, so I ended up making this new piece and printing it and the replacement ones for sale simultaneously.

I have a lovely Japanese maple tree outside my front door which provided the inspiration for this piece.  One year we had a very early spring and the tree fully leafed out way too soon.  When we had the inevitable later frost, the tree was severely damaged and I though I might lose it.  I did some serious pruning on it and after a few years of looking on the funky side, it is now back to normal and I look at it with pleasure every day.