Go, Go Power Rangers!

Ian was turning 4 and his parents asked for a Power Rangers painting for his room. I had previously painted a Lego guy for his big brother, Erik. (Posted about that painting here.)

Since Erik's painting had a shiny silver background, I knew I wanted to have the same for Ian's so they would go well together in the boys' room. I decided to try and make the Power Rangers spell out Ian's name with their bodies.

Did you know that there are many variations of Power Rangers? I didn't. I had spied his birthday cake pictured online so I went with the Samurai Power Rangers with their complicated masks.

Power Rangers spelling "Ian". Acrylic paint on canvas.


I hope Ian enjoyed his birthday painting and had a great birthday! Happy 4th, buddy!!!

Owl Family

My sister had a baby on March 10th and had requested a painting for his room. A while back she had sent a picture of one she liked on Pinterest to me. Then she couldn't find it again when I asked for it. My wife searched for it and finally found the exact painting and I got down to work. I wanted to finish it in time for the baby shower on April 6th and I did. I modified it slightly and just used it as a rough guide. I also added their almost 7 year old daughter, Mia, as the original only had parent owls and a baby owl.



It's an acrylic painting on a 2' x 3' canvas.

Isabelle

I created a little sign for my cousin's baby, Isabelle. They live on a farm that used to be a dairy farm so I decided to incorporate that into the sign. This is acrylic on ceramic.

Work in progress.

I'm working on a large piece--it's a 3' x 4' canvas. I'm so excited to get this one done. It will take a long time but I'm hoping that I can make time to get it finished. My new goal is to make more time for my art. This piece will be for sale once I'm finished.

Elephant Eating Fries

I received a request from a good friend to paint a picture for her nephew Mahdi. The request was unique and I knew it would be a fun painting to create: an elephant eating french fries. The only other information given to me was that it should be in bright colours.

I decided that it should be a fun painting with a cartoonish quality. I had some ideas in my head and kind of went with whatever came to me as I put it together. I started with a bright blue sky and green, textured grass.

Acrylic Painting on Canvas


I used the shiny acrylics that are easy to work with versus the duller, expensive acrylics I use for serious, life-like paintings.



I added the monkey to add a little fun to the fries. The bird was added to incorporate Mahdi's name in the painting.

I hope he likes it. It was a lot of fun to paint--there is more freedom in creating silly paintings.

Curious George

Friends requested a painting of Curious George for their baby girl's room. Their only request was a painting of the monkey with the baby's name incorporated into the painting somehow.

I selected a 12" x 12" thick canvas to paint this on. I like the thick canvas because you can hang it without a frame. I also needed it to be a reasonable size to ship to Alberta. Alberta is very expensive for shipping so I knew it shouldn't be gigantic.

Getting started...


  

I was happy to hear that they loved it. I'm always nervous painting a request for others. It's different if I just paint something and someone likes it and wants it. There's no pressure. When I paint something by request, I'm always worried they have an idea in their mind and it might not be what I imagine in mine. That's just how I am.

Ready for shipping...

Can't pass up a deal...

I walked into a miracle at Michael's last Friday. I was there to pick up a small canvas to do a painting for a friend's baby, due very soon. I wanted to get something that would look great in a baby room and ship easily enough. I stopped in for this purpose and walked into the biggest canvas deal ever. I bought a huge 3' x 4' canvas (regularly $100) for $30! I am so excited to get to work on another giant piece. I really wanted to do another. Now to think up some ideas.

I also spent a small fortune on new paints. There are three grades of acrylic paint and I like to work with the middle grade. It's not cheap but it's not insanely expensive either. I'm not a pro yet so I work with what I can afford.

In the meantime, I was able to complete a painting for my friend. I don't want to share it here until she sees it. I also don't want to share their baby name until it's time and that is a part of the artwork so... it'll be posted once I get the go ahead from them.



It wasn't easy to find the time. My partner was sick and the kids were in bed so I thought, now is the time. I can't wait for the perfect time, I have to create the perfect time. When you live in a hectic household full of kids and pets and don't get to paint all day as your profession, it is always hard to find that time to paint. I know that I'll need at least 2 hours to work on something.

I hope to force myself to carve out that time more often. I think the new canvas will inspire something... Stay tuned...