Friday, April 17, 2009

Painting The Joys of Life Series




The “Joy Of Life” series is a series of paintings that captures those moments when we are experiencing that magic and joy of doing what we love -- the simple things - - living life, being human, sharing love and laughter, and especially those tender moments when we are together with family and friends.

The first painting in this series is entitled, “Joy”, 28 x 28 Oil on Linen.

The painting first came to me as a simple idea .... Whenever children and even adults see balloons, they always smile! Then I envisioned children running through the fields with lots of colorful balloons. I pictured sisters holding hands and smiling and sharing those magical moments.

I scouted out a great location to do the photos -- the park near my house. Then I spent a few days watching the light to see what time of day would be best to do the photo shoot.

When the day came to take the photos, I found out that it was also Alexis’ birthday! I was thrilled that she celebrated it with her sisters and me, creating the magic of “Joy” by running through the field with the balloons we purchased at Albertsons --










Oh, and we added some other flowers and a pumpkin too!



When we returned to my house we went straight to my guest room. to select the outfits that they would be wearing. The closet is filled with clothes for all of my models-- in every color and size! Even little girls can be selective in what they choose to wear -- it is important for them to like the way they look, and, isn’t that so for all of us. We usually pick at least two outfits that will give us two different looks for more variety.

Everyone gets the full models’ treatment -- including hair and makeup -- for the little girls, we add a little color to their lips which brings out the smiles on their faces and makes them feel like very special models. Now it’s time to fix their hair. This can include either ponytails or pigtails and even colorful headbands.














With our looks complete, we are now we are off to the park to start taking photos. I have already scouted the location and the time of day that best suits what I am looking for. I chose a place where there would be no trees to get in the way of our floating balloons. We selected several colors of balloons and then the magic just happens. The smiles on their faces lit up the park.


Sisters share a special bond -- a friendship that lasts a lifetime -- capturing that love and joy on canvas is an honor and the reason why I paint!



After perusing through thousand of photos (and this process can take several days), there will be that special photo that just “pops” up-- and the one that captures the “joy” of the moment -- the one that I want to paint!

I usually start with a study of the painting which is where I work out the composition and the colors! And, then, several weeks later, the final painting!






“Joy” 28 x 28 Oil on Linen







1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for sharing your process! You are wonderful indeed and a true inspiration! Thank you**
    Janice Warriner

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