Sunday's are one of my favorite days of the week. This is the day that I set aside to practice new art techniques or paint for fun.
Lately I have been heavily inspired by Renaissance and impressionism landscapes. You can see the type of art I'm talking about on my Pinterest board. I have always been in love with the dark and mysterious. Because I work in the children's book industry I forced myself to use brighter and bolder colors, but it always left me feeling dissatisfied with my work. Some of my most favorite pieces that I have created have been from my fall collections. I try to participate in #CreepyCuteOctober on Instagram every year which allows me to explore the light hearted spooky side of children's illustrations. One day I would love to illustrate a spooky story for kids!
I have also been trying to incorporate softer colors into my work. A shift from children's book to storybook. Some recent color inspiration has been from Brambly Hedge, The Wind and the Willows, and anything illustrated by Jan Brett.
This Sunday I pulled out my Acryla Gouache. A medium I have been trying to practice every chance I get. I have been super inspired by the farmscapes of Wisconsin. I decided to combine a few moments I captured on my camera into one painting.
I pass this barn frequently on my bike rides. It overlooks a marsh so there are always different flocks of birds flying overhead. I was inspired to paint a flock of geese I saw one night. You will also notice, later on, that I changed the barn color to red.
A few weeks ago I happened to look out the window to see that the moon was huge and yellow against a pink sky. I wanted to add that into the painting as well.
One of my favorite things to see are the old farmers still using their 1950's tractors. My own grandpa has several old tractors that he won't let die. So of course I had to paint one.
Wisconsin is famous for it's maple production. Maple trees grow in abundance here which makes fall especially beautiful. My Aunt harvests her own syrup each year and is generous enough to share! Another funny fact about maple in Wisconsin is that there are no maple donut bars here. The idea of a maple bacon bar is unheard of. Which is odd since we are in the land of maple and bacon, no?
Of course I had to add little dog as an ode to Phoebe.
I am trying to practice using a mix of colors to add dimension to my paint. Rather than using various shades of green for the grass, I mixed in brown, yellow, and red. I really like the way it turned out. Same for the sky. I started with a wash of pink and yellow, then layered blue and purple. I used yellow and pink again to blend the sky together.
And here is the final product! My goal is to find the perfect frame to go along with it. Follow me on Instagram and TikTok since that is most likely where I will be posting where and when I get it!
I love the woods, full of autumn leaves and the full moon (or setting sun if you choose) overhead. It sparks a bit of curiosity as to what lives within those woods. Is the farmer rushing finish chores before dark settles in? The puff of smoke from the farmhouse gives us a clue that a warm meal is waiting for him when he arrives. What do you think of when you see this painting?
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