Jelly Time

Last night all I planned to do was pig out on Safeway wings :) but my little brother came into my room looking at my 4 paintings. He was actually interested and I enthusiastically shared how fun it has been for me so far. How it's such a stress reliever. I handed him a canvas panel and the next thing I know everything was set up and I was holding a paint brush with gesso dripping off of it. Usually I spend time looking for a tutorial, but this time I just jumped in and went with the flow. I decided I wanted to paint a Jellyfish (I have a thing for tentacles) and keep it simple and silly. My little brother on the other hand wanted to do something that had snow involved and ended up painting 2 trees covered in snow leaves.

I wasn't able to snap a picture of his though because he immediately took his masterpiece into his room wondering where to hang it. I'm really happy he had fun :) It's a great reminder to share your interests with others! The more the merrier!

The Whimsical Jellyfish

Oh I even practiced putting an initial/signature this time! :) haha

Painting Inspired by Philippine Waters

A quickie fact about myself: I lived in the Philippines for 9 years :) As I was stumbling around YouTube for tutorials and random inspirations I came across a video that taught the basics to drawing palm trees. I suddenly felt a pang of longing for the islands that hold so much meaning to me. I basically grew up with an audience of coconut palm trees surrounding me. I can still remember looking out my window at the swaying of seemingly weak trees only to find they had survived over and over the greetings of typhoons. For my 3rd painting it was great to feel that sudden urge to paint out of true inspiration!

I named this painting Sangley Point. Sangley Point is a coastal naval base in the Philippines where a lot of my high school friends lived.

There were plenty of weekends spent there for dance practices, random get togethers, and just hanging around the sea wall. The smell of the sea is so distinctive...fishy but fresh! Manila bay is not known for its cleanliness, but all is forgiven when you're standing by the edge, and the constant hit of the wind along with the sound of water splashing violently on the rocks drowns out all the worries around you.

I wasn't able to take any progress shots because I was too into it! :) Painting this allowed me to familiarize myself with the brushes which was great! Learning to distinguish the brushes that make thick and fine lines really helps. I'm starting to have favorites in my beginner brush collection :) so that's a good sign.