Hello and Happy Saturday! Today I had so much fun painting wild flowers and weeds on this summer piece. This is as far as I got today. Hope you like it!
I'm simultaneously excited and terrified about painting the ship. We'll see how that goes!
April Project: Day 23
Happy first day of Summer in Iceland! Today is a holiday here, and so far the weather has really been cooperating! Chris and I just went for a run along the ocean and the sun was shining bright. We're not sure if it is because today is a holiday or because the weather is nice, but we were greeted by a few strangers on our run, and someone even smiled at us. It was likely a smile in response to my smile, but that is far better than the annoyed or puzzled looks I normally receive.
Because it is Iceland's first day of summer, I wanted to illustrate a phrase with the word summer in it. And what came to mind is a song I love by Kings of Convenience, a Norwegian duo that sings music that I usually describe as doodle-ie-doo music. It is super pleasant to listen to, and at times makes me think of some soft Simon & Garfunkel songs. The song is called Gold In The Air Of Summer. The video below is a bit shaky, but the song is good. The album is called Riot on an Empty Street. I highly recommend it.
These are the song lyrics...
Without giving anything away,
I can say it's by the sea.
It's a house that used to be the home of a friend of mine.
Without giving anything away,
you'll find ships inside of bottles,
and the garden's overgrown,
the house is white but the paint is coming of.
I didn't know if you wanted to,
when I came to pick you up.
But you didn't even hesitate,
and now you and me are on our way.
I think I've brought everything we need,
so don't look back,
don't think of the other places you should have been
it's a good thing that you came along with me.
Gold in the air of summer,
you'll shine like gold in the air of summer.
So I started on a larger project than I could possibly finish today, but I'll continue to work on the next few days, I'm thinking. Here is as far as I got today.
My idea is that this phrase will be framed by flowers and plants from the overgrown garden that the song lyrics talk about. I love ships, bottles, ships in bottles, overgrown gardens, flowers, gold, summer, cork, ocean, and things that shine... so I think this will be a fun project. Stay tuned for more! :) And have a great day!
April Project: Day 21
Hello and Happy Tuesday to you! Today I wasn't sure what to paint. I had several ideas, but I just started and let the painting inform me. What can I say? I have potted plants on the brain!
Hope you have a great day! And I'll be back tomorrow with something new to share with you. :)
April Project: Day 18
Hello, lovely friends! Today I had a very full day of sight-seeing and hiking. I came home late and gave myself a short amount of time (one hour) to put some plants into those cups. I consider them a work in progress, but this was as far as I got today. I hope you enjoy them!
I will have a bit more time tomorrow, so perhaps I'll do something completely different? Who knows. But I'll be sure to be back tomorrow to share whatever I end up creating! :)
April Project: Day 11
Hello, friends! Today, in between working on illustrations that are due early next week and watching a Norwegian relative of mine win silver in a karate competition, I decided to draw a chair and some cats. It is Caturday, after all. I had a scrap of rough watercolor paper to use, so I drew with a pencil and painted the pink background in gouache. This is a work-in-progress, so I think I will play some more with it tomorrow. I am unsure about how much I want to paint and how much of the graphite I want to leave showing. So far, I like the graphite on the chair and I'm considering drawing a pattern on the upholstery. I'll decide tomorrow, I guess. :)
Have a great day! And check back tomorrow to see what more I end up doing with this piece. :)
