Man's Best Friend

This commission was a nice surprise. I was contacted to paint this as a Christmas gift for her husband. The dog passed almost 2 years ago to the day. It is hard to lose a family member, and some people, see their pets as family. I was happy to do this piece.

From the woman who commissioned the painting- Thank you so much, my husband will absolutely love this. It's already framed. Our heart and soul dog crossed the rainbow bridge 2 years ago today ❤️🐾❤️🐾" 

Dog Drawing

Hard to see, but I've got the beginnings of a pet drawing commission, and the finished product. I'm loving all this extra drawing and painting work before Christmas! Message me with any creative projects you might have, I've got a sewing job to do too!

Hand Painted/drawn portraits make great valentines gift as well!! Never to early to start planning!   

😉

Winery T-shirts

I'm really excited to see the progress my parents are making the family winery. As a Christmas gift, my brother is getting everyone in the family t-shirts. I'm so excited with how they turned out! It is awesome to see the logo I created and design on the front! It also makes the winery feel more like a reality than a dream. We are getting so close!

Caterpillar Speed Painting

Watch the process of taking a 3 year old's smudges and turning it into something recognizable, a Caterpillar! Leif's colorful artwork came out wonderful! Please like, share and comment!

Here it is on Youtube!  ----->  Caterpillar Speed Painting

Luca Speed Painting

Here it is! I'm still getting used to making these speed painting videos. Luca was so much fun to paint. Let me know if you have a portrait (people or pets) or any other painting projects you might have!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnQcXpma-ZM

Painting Luca

Here is a painting of a little boy named Luca. His grandmother commissioned the piece and I was very excited to work on it! She really liked how it turned out. The only thing that I was skeptical about was that in the painting, I thought that Luca looked a little old than in the photograph. But after seeing him in person, I didn't think that anymore. It's possible the photo she gave me was from a while ago and the painting looks more like his current self. Young kids change on a daily basis! It's made from water color on paper.

I also created a speed painting video out of this. It took me about 3 hours to paint and the video is less than a minute. Here it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnQcXpma-ZM

x

Painting Dakota

It feels good to paint! I'm in love with this painting I created of Dakota. My favorite part by far is his epic beard! I have never painted a beard so I was nervous that I might looked like it was not actually attached to his face. It turned out much better that I expected and I am happy that it looked like him.

Here is the link to the speed painting video I created for it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPISx8MlRsA

Elena Deer

Here is 8 Month Elena's painting. I loved finding a little bird sitting in flowers on the deer's antlers! Check out the Facebook page at here to see the speed painting video!

Tshirt design idea

Here is a t-shirt design I want to work on. Obviously I will have to work on the actual type, but this is the general idea of what I want it to say. I really like the idea of the standing fisherman giving the idea of a cross from far away.

Family Tree

Sometimes, you just want to paint a tree! Also, I needed an excuse to hang a bunch of family photos and I know that I never hang things very evenly, this way I just need to make sure they are hanging on a branch!

Bottle to Glass

Dakota and I decided to be crafty today and try to use old glass bottles and turn them into glasses. After watching a few how to videos we decided to test it out ourselves.

First you score the glass, we put it in an empty can to help keep it straight

Then you heat the line that you scored

After heating it, stick it in ice. You might have to heat it again and ice it again. We had to do it twice

Sand the edge smooth, this is the trickiest part

Now you have a new cup :)

More Fish Paintings!

 More fish paintings inspired by Dakota! A quick look into what my sketchbook looks like lately. I'm exploring color, line, shape and of course.... FISH!

Watercolor Tiger

Here is a work in progress! This tiger is coming together nicely and I am loving the colors I have so far. I am painting with watercolor again so I am slowly adding layer by layer. I have to be careful that I don't have to much water on the brush so it doesn't take off any previous layers. At least that is how I have been painting with them lately. As far as process goes... I DO NOT DRAW IT BEFORE. When I am painting from life or a photograph with watercolor I have been "drawing" with the paint brush first. Usually in a really light blue color. I roughly map out shadows and outlines and then slowly add more details as I go, starting with the lightest color first.

Fly Fishing at Yellow Breeches

There is just something in this man's blood that makes him want to constantly fish. Like the rivers and steams literally run in his veins.  Such love for this hobby has reminded me of what my passion for art, creating and capturing moments is. Today I took Dakota to the Yellow Breeches for the first time to fish. I sat on the bench along the stream and worked on some paintings. But I also brought along my camera too! I like to see what he catches and with my fancy lens, I can zoom in and get some pretty awesome photos as well! This is the only time Dakota smiles for his photo being taken!

6 to 26

I'm sure I have shown off my giraffe drawing from when I was 6 years old multiple times before. It may be one of my favorite pieces I have ever created. I still remember sitting in front of the T.V. watching my favorite show at the time called Pappy Drewit. A wonderful show that had the goal to teach children to draw. (Later at Pratt, I actually got the chance to meet Pappy Drewit! I showed him my little masterpiece and he signed my sketchbook next to a printed copy of my giraffe.) I also remember how proud I was of my drawing, and running outside with my computer paper piece flapping in my hand as I ran to my dad to show it off. For my seventh birthday my mom put it in a little frame and I was so proud.

Anyway, I've been trying to paint more lately and brush up on my watercolor skills. I couldn't decide what I wanted to paint and as I was searching through old photos I came across my lovely giraffe again. Immediately I was inspired to create a similar piece just... 20 years later. Some responses I received on Facebook were encouraging and positive. But one that stood out was a comical post from a close friend stating "Sam, have you been trying to out do yourself since you were 6? Great job!"

Lylah #31!

Here are some photos from my adventure with little miss Lylah who is about 2 1/2 years old. You can see her creative process through some of the photos. You can ask, "How does she have a process?" Well, a habit I have noticed that a lot of young children have, is that no matter how many brushes I may have on the table, they will use every single one of them!

This has taught me to only put out a 10-15 brushes. That still seems like a lot, but I put a different color on each brush and if I don't put many out, I don't get as many exciting colors on the paintings.

 Here you can see the before and after images. I'm so proud of how this little masterpiece has turned out and the grandparents are as well! They have even sent me photos of the beautiful painting newly framed and proudly displayed above the fireplace. It is such blessing to be able to capture paintings of children at such a young age. A wonderful keepsake! Thank you for the experience Lylah!

Clint Eastwood Sketch

I'm watching Gran Torino tonight and sketching Clint at the same time! Yes, I do have a photo reference on my phone. I am mostly just enjoying myself and trying to get that stare that we have all come to love just right. I'll probably go back in later and add so black sharpie to make it all more dramatic. I love this movie!

Gone Fishing...

When your boyfriend is constantly talking about fishing and tying flies, use it as inspiration! At least now I know what a brown trout is and a wooly bugger thingy... Ok, maybe I need to draw more!