Flowerinas

Quick Elsa Sketch

July 2015

Some days the desire to create something is so strong that I can't do anything else.

“My, longings are the reminder that there is more – another world, another place where I am meant to be.” -@SarahMae

Just a quick sketch of Elsa, because when you have four daughters it's what you do. 

The Beginning: Dan Reynolds Aja Volkman

August 2015

I just wanted to draw something. It's been so long since I've done a big project.  Obviously my first thought was to draw one of my daughters, but then I realized I couldn't choose which one and drawing all four was a bigger project than I was ready for. So I found this picture, recognizable faces and I like the emotion it portrays between the two. 

Aja's face needs some work in my drawing, I need to capture that coy look on her face.

For now, it's in the beginning stages, maybe one day I'll finish it.

Three Little Girls: Blocked Out

9" x 12" Canvas Panel

When I started this blog, I had one small daughter Ayla Dell. Since her we have created two more little master pieces Tayvie Noon, and Lyndlee Eve. All three girls. All three gorgeous. I also nanny for three handsome little fellers two age three and a one year old. This afternoon, I lined them all up at the kitchen table with paintbrushes, watercolors and paper. Five of the six (four years old and younger) sat and painted for a good amount of time. Obviously number six would have been involved if she were old enough to hold a paint brush and not eat the wet paper. Nothing makes me happier than this. I love to see kids creating and using their imaginations.
I just started this project of my three girls. This is it all blocked out. I sketched it out and then made the lines more definitive with a charcoal pencil once the sketch was complete. Probably shouldn't have done the charcoal, it's making it a bit harder to work with, but I think it will work out.

Fisherman Project: Framed & Matted- FINISHED

Finished!

I found this picture frame and thought it was absolutely perfect for a fisherman picture! I love the frame! Probably my favorite part of doing a portrait is framing and matting, because it means it's done, but also because I love how it changes the picture, depending on the colors you put with it. So here it is finished. As always I am so worried, I really hope it's good enough and the family will like it. This was a hard one for me because I did not know this man and know very little about his personality so it's hard to capture that. I just hope his family is happy with it. If nothing else I bet they'll like the frame!

Fisherman Project: Background

Fisherman Project: Getting Close

I've been working hard on this portrait. I'm getting closer to being finished. As you can see there's still a lot of finishing work to be done but it's starting to come together. I was surprised, those fish were kind of fun to do. I love drawing faces and trying to capture personalities, so doing a shirt or a fish I don't usually care about but maybe in this case the fish show part of the personality.

Fisherman Project: Getting Bold

Getting closer. I told you how hard it is to make myself FINISH a picture. I have THE hardest time one I get past the coloring book stage I think. But I NEED to finish this one, so I've been working really hard on it, hopefully a couple more days and I'll have the finished product for you! I know, I know, it still looks like it has a ways to go but it will come together I promise (hopefully:) )

Fisherman Project: Adding Shadows

I just started adding the darker bolder colors to his face... don't worry it will eventually even all out. I love faces. Faces and eyes are my favorite, when those are done I have a hard time motivating myself to finish the picture... but that will be a while I still have a long way to go on this face.

Fisherman Project: Coloring Book Stage

Fisherman Project: Blocked Out Stage

16" x 16" Yellow Drawing Board Pencil

Getting to the Point

This is a pointalism picture of Ayla blowing bubbles by my sister Annie. I think it's pretty amazing so I stole it from her blog LillyInspired. I love the picture it's self, Ayla loves bubbles so much so just the subject of the picture and the composition I love, but I think it's amazing in pointillism.

Just A Random Sketch

Commissioned

I haven't updated this site for a while so I thought I'd let you know that I do have some projects in the works. I've recently had a couple people ask me to do some portraits and paintings for them. I'm really excited about these, I'm always so flattered when someone asks me... quite nervous too, hopefully I can meet their expectations!

Talented Ladies

by Lacie Mae Goddard

above by AshleeG: www.ashandike.wordpress.com

above by April: www.shawnaprilbarrett.blogspot.com

above by AshleeV: www.vee-kids.blogspot.com

similar to above by Kim: www.kimsueellen.blogspot.com

My friends and I had a project day this morning. We all got together and painted canvas' on my deck. The weather was wonderful... it may have been too hot but it made the paint dry fast so it was perfect! I think we all had a good time! I had a great time! I really enjoyed getting together and being creative! I was amazed by how different each painting was. They all reflect the artists... that's the neat thing about these kind of paintings, in a way they are a portrait of the artist, from the colors to the brushstrokes, the circles to the lines to the smears we each have our own styles and have a different picture in our heads. I think it kind of resembles how we each have a different perception in every situtation in life, we all see things differently, but in a beautiful way!

New Projects

I haven't posted anything for a while but I do have a couple of pieces I am working on right now... I start something and that's about as far as it gets. I am working on a portrait of Dellie sitting on the lap of the Savior and I am really excited about it. Hopefully by posting this and promising to display some new artwork soon I will force myself to finish it!
I love to sit down and draw, I always want to, it's just so hard to actually sit down and do it!

Greg Olsen Art

http://www.gregolsenart.com/artwork/inspirational

I had the amazing opportunity to go to a fireside last night that the famous and amazingly talented artist Greg Olsen was speaking at. I took my sister Gen with me, who, when it was over, rushed the stage to get his autograph! He was super sweet and nice to her and signed her book as a "fellow artist."

He is amazing. To look at his work close up, they look like photographs. He told neat little stories to go along with them which made me love his paintings even more.

Obviously his work is copyrighted but I read the rules to use them and I think I'm with in the boundries to use this picture so you can see what I'm talking about. If you want to see more click on the link above or this one www.gregolsenart.com

This picture is probably my favorite. It is beautiful. Listening to him speak and looking at his beautiful paintings has really inspired me to try some new things. A true artist is one who can portray something in a way that can make you feel something from viewing it, whether it be a mood or a feeling or even taking you away for a second as if you feel like you are there with in the painting. His art work truely does that! You can't look at his paintings with out feeling something or even feeling like you are there watching. He definately paints a story in just one picture. I think that is every artist's goal and he has mastered it... though I'm sure you'd never hear him admit that as he is so humble about his paintings.

My Sister

My sister Lilly is an amazing artist, she has some really cool stuff. Check this out:
http://www.lillyinspired.blogspot.com/

Qwick Oil Pastel

Alyssa Lyn

Alyssa Lyn 12"x 15" Colored Pencil August 2000

This was my boss' baby girl. My favorite part about this portrait is the brim of the hat. I love her little face too! Things have changed so much in just the past 7 years. Back then I would take the finished portrait to Kinkos and copy it, I was always disappointed how the copy would turn out, the coloring was always off, parts would be darker than they really were, and parts would look streaky. Now it's great, I can print the original picture any size I want on my own computer and I can either take a picture of the finished portrait or just scan it in!

Kirstie Ann

 Kirstie Ann 12"x 15" Colored Pencil September 2000

Kirstie was my boss' older daughter. I remember the coolest thing about this one was when I was working on the wicker chair...I dreaded doing that chair, just because it's so much detail that's really pretty meaningless to the picture, a waist of time. Anyway, I was working up close not looking at the whole picture and when I finally moved away I was shocked: it looked like the chair!!! Now it is my favorite part of the picture! Funny how the part you dread the most turns out to be your favorite part! This one also copied darker in some spots, but gives you a decent idea of what it looked like.

Shianne

 Shianne 12" x 15" Colored Pencil/Oil October 2000

This was a ladie's granddaughter. I did the portrait in colored pencil and the background in oil paint. Looking at the picture now my favorite part is the dress and the flower, I know I didn't like doing those then, they seemed meaningless to the picture at the time. Once I've captured the likeness, which is mainly in the face I have a hard time pushing past that point. The copy of this one shows a halo around the head and body, in the real picture that's not visible at all, I'm sure it has to do with the light from the copier.

Kevin & Tara

Kevin & Tara 9" x 12" Colored Pencil November 2000

I liked this one a lot! The girl in the pictures sister wanted to give this portrait to the couple as a wedding gift. This was actually their engagement picture. I love the look on Kevin's face! This one I did slightly smaller, which was kind of fun for a change. I liked doing something different. Probably my favorite part to look at now is her pants, I like how simple they are but they look real.

Nanna

Nanna 15" x 12" Colored Pencil December 2000

This was a family friend's Nanna. Technically she was the husband's Nanna, but the wife just loved this lady with all of her heart, so the husband asked me to do this portrait for her and he gave it to his wife for Christmas. My favorite is the hands, I love the fingers. She looks so loving. The copy again turned out funky, the background is really not those funky colors.

Jesse

Jesse 12" x 15" Colored Pencil March 2001

This was a commission of my District Manager's daughter when I worked at JCPenney Optical. These commission pieces were before the time of digital photography in my life, so they were scanned on a copy machine. Obviously the bright light made the colors off and lines sometimes looked harsher than they actually were.

Watercolor by Gentry

This is a watercolor by a very talented painter, my sister Gentry Ellen Cole. This one is also displayed in my living room. In all honesty, I think this is the most beautiful watercolor picture I have ever seen. It's my favorite.

Modern

Another painting I did for my living room. I touched up the white circles this morning and Ayla went crazy for this painting. I hung it above my couch and she's been pointing at it all day.

Rothko-esque

This is an oil painting I did for my living room inspired by Mark Rothko.

Mark Rothko

An unknown adventure in an unknown space.

Strange though it may seem, some of my favorite work is that by Mark Rothko. I love the concept of his paintings, it's an art-scape or a field-scape, the viewer is supposed to view it close up and be within the painting. To me it is relaxing, it is your own canvas with whatever your imagination holds on it. Mark Rothko resisted explaining his work he felt that "word's would only paralize the viewer's imagination." In fact he even stopped giving his paintings conventional names instead he used colors or numbers. "Silence is so accurate" he said. Rothko's work encourages the viewer to use his creative imagination. More paintings & info about Mark Rothko: http://www.nga.gov/feature/rothko/rothkosplash.html

Ayla Dell

Until a few years ago people would commission me to do portraits. I would only work on one portrait at a time and it would consume my life. I was putting a lot of time and work into each portrait, but being recently married and adjusting to a new life soon became my priority. Now I am a stay-at-home mom to my beautiful little Ayla Dell, who just turned one. I've been waiting for the time to be able to work on art projects again, but realize I have to make the time. Having made this goal at the beginning of the year this is the progress of my first project.  I work mainly in colored pencil and my favorite projects are portraits of people and especially children.