The Telling of a Painting

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