Do I Really Have To Wear This?

Do I Really Have To Wear This?

8x8, soft pastel

A little levity on this final day of the 30in30 Challenge. Thanks for following my journey this month it's been a roller coaster. I'll continue painting most days and will share my results along the way (at least those paintings I think are good enough). Feel free to follow my blog if you'd like to see what I'm up to.

This sweet granddaughter looked so cute in her giraffe costume for Halloween but you could tell she was really wondering why she wasn't dressed as a fairy princess like her big sister. You could almost read her mind from her expression!

Footloose

Footloose

8x8, soft pastel

Oh to have the free spirit of a child!  This was a particularly hot summer day.  The grandsons were visiting and playing in the backyard.  They would march on a stone path through the flowerbeds and pick blackberries from the tangled berry patch.  Often the sprinklers would come out to cool off.  On this particular day Tyler was all about cooling off the right way...in the buff (although he was a bit hesitant when he approached the sprinkler).  Not many of us would be so carefree.  That's what I miss about childhood...being footloose and fancy free! 

The Smirk!

The Smirk!

8x8, soft pastel

Painting 24 of the 30in30 Challenge is Brian...with what is best described as a half smile...better yet...a smirk.  You know how it is...(if you are a grandparent that is).    You've taken 100s of pictures of the grandkids...perhaps even in one single day, trying to capture and encapsulate the overwhelming love you have for them in a spectacularly frozen moment.

Then, you see IT...a golden opportunity! The perfect shot!  Your tremendously awesome and beautiful grandchild is concentrating on something else...gazing off into the distance...unaware of the scene before you.  So, you "sneak up" on him (or her) and attempt to capture that perfect candid moment.  That moment when the light is just SO right...streaming down onto his innocent face.  The colors in the room are alive with vibrancy.  BUT,  just as you are about to "snap" the photo...he senses what you're up to and looks up...quickly changing from his heavenly far off gaze into.......THE SMIRK!    Eeeeeegadddds!

Sisters

 Sisters

12x18, pastel

What day is this?  I have lost track!  Day 13-15,  "Sisters" is finally done!  I am going to celebrate with a brat (a bratwurst not a spoiled child)...a beer...and a nap...in that order.

With the 30in30 I always seem to learn something every single day.  With this one I learned if I go big...I've gotta pace myself because I'm not experienced enough to paint loose and fast.  Oh well.  I'm happy with the results even though I imagine I will continue to tweet it a bit.

These two sweet girls are my grand-daughters and are two of the best girls I've ever known.  They've grown quite a bit since the reference photo was taken but this particular summer evening I remember well.  A warm summer evening on the farm and a barbecue at their grandparents house to celebrate my son-in-law's birthday...what could be better?  

The girls were glowing from the sun setting behind them.  It was also pretty windy so their hair was flying all over the place!  As you can see they were pretty intent playing with their dolls and were oblivious to just how awesome this scene was...or, is that just the opinion of this slightly biased grandma?

Work in Progress...

I suspected the day was coming...and here it is!  I shouldn't have been surprised...I chose a complicated piece and started with a large format (12x18).  But, I really love this scene.  I remember the day clearly.  It was a hot summer evening and the sunlight glow around the girls playing was amazing...we'll see if I can pull this one off.  I wish it was better than it is...but I keep reminding myself I have a ways to go.

Pretty in Pigtails

Pretty in Pigtails

8x8, soft pastel 

Day 12 - This sweet spunky little girl is Kristy (aka Beth) when she was all of two years old.  It took quite a while for her hair to grow long enough for pigtails...but finally the day arrived.  She was proud to wear pigtails this particular day along with her favorite colorful pants and matching shoes...and of course bright blue ribbons in her hair. Every little girl should wear pigtails at least once in her lifetime!

Backyard Ballet

Backyard Ballet

9x6, soft pastel

Swim lessons, baseball games, picnics, and dance recitals are all things I love about the warm days of summer.  It's foggy, freezing cold and snowy outside...Oh how I miss those summer days!

This is Emily performing in her first ballet recital. I believe she was two years old and so proud of her little pink tutu and sparkly tiara.  Recitals for Maddie and Emily always took place in the spacious backyard of their teacher's home.  It is there that parents, siblings, and grandparents gather to watch the kids' summer performances (I think the grandparents were even more excited than the kids).  It's a perfect way to spend a warm summer evening!

Hide 'n Seek

Hide 'n Seek

11x7, soft pastel

Today's painting is of Zack at the tender age of two.  It's a scene that always makes me laugh because he wanted to play hide and seek.  Not having much experience at it, he hid behind this tree and truly believed that he was well hidden. He must have thought if he snuck a peak to see where I was I wouldn't see him. As a good grandma would do, I played along and looked all over the backyard calling his name "trying" to find him.  I laughed a lot when I painted this one.

There's Snow Place Like Home!

There's Snow Place Like Home!

10x8, soft pastel

Three of my grandkids live on a farm. There are no other kids nearby...not for many miles. They learned at an early age how to entertain themselves and more importantly how to play together and get along.  Ok....maybe once in awhile they get on each others' nerves but overall they get along very well!

This scene is of a beautiful winter day on the farm. With lots of snow to make a "sled hill" in the backyard, the kids spend hours on their outside activities. This scene is of Maddie and her little brother Jake taking their turn down the "hill".