New Painting: A World of Possibilities

I never thought I would put a rainbow or a smiley face in a work of art.

But that's just what I did this week. I had this crazy idea. It started when we had some guests over, and I had the front door open so that Cecelia and our dog Bella could watch them come in. Cece put her hands up on the door and stuck her nose to the glass. It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen, and I knew I had to make a painting of it somehow.

The view of our neighborhood outside, however, presented a problem. Our front yard consists of dead grass that we've tried and failed to maintain every year for the past six years. Beyond the road, there is just a mailbox, a tall fence, and the unattractive backside of a brick house. So I had to do something else with the scene before me.

It occurred to me that Cecelia doesn't see the dead grass or the fences that people hide behind. She sees the world as new and exciting, with endless possibilities. I tried to take that wonderment and infuse it into this painting.

"A World of Possibilities" - 20x14 inches - oil on linen

You'd think a simple childlike sketch in the background would be a piece of cake. In some respects, it was. When I grabbed my crayons and sketchbook to work out the design, some of the elements came intuitively because that was the exact way I used to draw those things when I was a kid. Naturally, the rainbow goes here. And the house goes here. And it has one window. And flowers out front. I still had to do some prep work to make it a pleasing composition, without getting too fancy. That was actually kind of tough! I found myself smiling as I wondered what some of my landscape artist friends would think of my puffy clouds and happy sun.

I never thought I'd learn so much from being a mother! Cecelia is teaching me to resurrect my inner child. She is teaching me how to be positive in all things, and to see the world with fresh eyes. I am loving this part of the journey! 

New Painting: A World of Possibilities