Sometimes the story behind a painting is almost as enjoyable as the painting itself!  This is the story that begins with an idea and my love of the ocean...

About four years ago, I purchased a large 36x24 canvas that I planned to hang over our guest room bed in Florida.  While changing to new bedding in the guest room, I was suddenly inspired to get the painting done once and for all!  It also helped that my husband was back in NY and I had entire days to be creative...a true "me time" opportunity!

Over a year ago, I sketched an idea about what I wanted to see in this painting...and that's as far as it went.  Here's my rendering:

Enter the arrival of my Wayfair quilt that totally transformed the look of the guest room and that's when the call to paint started.  I dug out my sketch book and studied my design.  You may not know this, but there is a medium out there that when applied to canvas, will created a surface suitable for watercolor!  The name of the product is QPR Cold Press Ground and it's super easy to apply.

 Once the medium was dry, I drew my design on the canvas with a pencil.  ​Adding the sky and ocean set the mood of the painting for me.  When that was dry, I decided to add a little sun because, after all, we always refer to Florida as "sunny Florida" right?  I immediately began to doubt my decision once I began painting in the yellow but later realized I'd be painting objects in front of the sun that would break up the streaks of yellow.  Next came the sandy beach and painting around my objects.  ​

It was finally time to paint details and I started with the palm trees, since I love painting them!  The pilings and birds were next and I was happy how they turned out.  The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse got painted and this was another object I've painted previously and had a good comfort level for. The tall grasses pretty much completed that entire section of the painting.

The next section to paint was the momma and her toddler making a sand castle.  This is where my heart was guiding me as it is a future depiction of my daughter in-law, Kris, and their second child (currently in the planning stages!).  Or, it could be present-day and my grandson, Liam, is now walking!  It is a fluid story for sure!  I decided to tackle the sail boat and that was also an image I've painted previously with success.

It was time to tackle the two people fishing!  The future story is the dad is my son, Will, and the child is my grandson, Liam.  Or, it could be a present-day depiction of Kris's nephew, Ethan fishing with Will.  Either way the story will fit the scene!  I decided to add the sand pipers, a bird I absolutely love to paint!  They are fascinating to watch hopping around on the beach.  A beach umbrella and beach chair took care of that corner.

My husband asked if I could add dolphins and a turtle at the very end and I'm so happy for his input.  You can see them in the finished painting at the beginning.  This painting took me about 7 days to complete as I only worked for 2-3 hours at a time on it.

I hope you enjoyed The Telling of a Painting story!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

LYN

I'm posting today because I am absolutely gaga over Cyanotype printmaking!  If you've never heard of it, it is taken from the work "cyan" for it's dark blue tones and is commonly referred to as a Prussian Blue color. It was the same color as used in blueprints until around 1950.  Cyanotype was invented in 1842 by a British astronomer and chemist, John Frederick William Herschel. To say the least, it is a very old process.

I've been following Cyanotype printmaking for awhile and when my friend, Kathy Greenia was here visiting, we played with pre-inked papers I had purchased through Amazon.  Going on a nature walk and picking leaves, flowers, and twigs that we thought would be fun to use was a highlight of this activity!  Waiting for the photosynthesis process to take place was magical!

Fast forward to yesterday when I took a class from a Cyanotype artist, Judy Pickett at The Hub on Canal Street here in New Smyrna Beach! I learned so much about this technique!  Once you know the gist of the process, it's really a matter of playing and experimenting with lots of different organic materials and papers.  We used rice paper, mala paper and watercolor papers.  I purchased the Jaquard Cyanotype Powder solution as it has a longer shelf life to use when I return to NY.  The instructor used a liquid solution such as Photographers' Formulary Liquid Cyanotype Printing Solution.

I'm excited to share this intriguing technique and my hope is that you give this a try yourself.  If you'd like more information, search YouTube and Pinterest.

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

LYN