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!

Dakota's Painting

Now that it is officially Christmas, I can finally show off the painting that I created for Dakota! He was very surprised by my gift to him and his reaction to it is something I will cherish forever.

There is a story behind the important people in the painting that are fishing and the truck that they drove in. Dakota recognized these things right away and I was so worried about it! What kind of painter/illustrator would I be if the viewer in mind didn't understand what was going on?

It absolutely killed me that I couldn't tell Dakota all of the struggles throughout the painting, so I took lots of in progress photos so I could easily show him all that had gone wrong. First there was a tree that I loved, but just didn't seem right.

So I had to paint over it. Then those mountains in the back just didn't seem far away enough. But the biggest, most horrifying mistake I made was the color of the truck. He still owns the truck and from what I know of it, it is blue.

BUT the time that this story takes place, the truck was brown. And I only found out by accident four days ago! I'm thankful that I found out but when I did, my heart sunk. All that work... but it was easily fixed and I am so happy with this. My first oil painting in a few years!

Hunting Fleece Hats

It's hunting season and I am experimenting with sewing new hats! By law, and for general safety, there needs to be at least 20 square inches of bright orange on your head when you are out in the woods. For obvious reasons, you want to make sure that other hunters can see you. I bought the fleece for the hats on black Friday for a less than the cost of a fleece hat you could buy at a store. The best part is, that I bought enough fleece for at least 20 hats! How great is that! Sure it may take some time for me to do this, but I am double layering and taking my time and making a sturdy warm hat that I know I can use for a long time.

Brooke #28!

Here are the before and after photos from my adventure with Brooke (about 3 years old)! Brooke loved using every single brush I had, which was about 30 different brushes and sponges. But I am glad she did because she used more and more colors that made her masterpiece really exciting!