Just "finished" this a little earlier today. It is my first "portrait" watercolor. I would never have been tempted... except, you know... my love of the Little Man... well, it takes me to deep waters...
Now, as I examine the painting post-photographing, I see things I would like to change. I'm not sure you ever stop seeing those things, if you are like me... Slightly obsessive... slightly perfectionistic... Thank goodness, I have mellowed with age or I would never have been able to tolerate the imperfections of learning to watercolor... It challenges me, even now... way down the line from my most driven days.
However, at one point today (I've worked on this one several days over a period of time), I finally hit an excited moment... with the fabric... and the shadows... a moment that it felt like I might be "getting it." Good news, for me, is that it only takes a moment of joy and excitement to incite me to continue my pursuit! Pursuit of wonder... of joy... of satisfaction...
That is my hope for you this day... that some moment feels right... that some moment is the breadcrumb in the trail to put you on the right path... that some moment gives you joy...
... that some moment gives you hope.
To see the photo that inspired this painting click here. It was taken Little Man's Momma.
blessings ~ tanna
p.s. I have gotten a lot done while blogger has been down this week... hmmmm... what does that tell you?
37 comments:
Tanna, that is so GOOD!! You are getting better and better. Glad you found what you love to do.
It is just wonderful. So cute of a precious boy. I was frustrated with Blogger too but then realized that with it unavailable I could focus on OTHER things! :)
Great painting of a sweet, sweet subject! I see many more of these in your future! :)
You did a great job, I love it!!
WOW...this is awesome..the expression in his eyes, I can feel it! You are really good my friend. And I know about those feeling of the heart of which you speak...the greatest motivator of all. :D
Amazing. So lifelike. You belong in deep waters! Keep on swimming, ever deeper. As for me, I think I'll keep on splashing in the tidewater... It feels so...safe.
O.K. All joking aside I agree with you wholeheartedly. Inspiration comes from the things that touch our hearts, like your 'Little Man'. I've found that the times I'm most excited in creating come from crazy bursts of heart passion. Thanks for sharing your heart passion with us. He's beautiful, it's beautiful.
Blessings, Debbie
Great job, and I will guarantee you it's addicting...portraits ~ especially family members.
The frabic you got down perfect. I enjoyed doing fabric that was detailed in a couple of my first tries.
You are really becoming so accomplished. I really need to get busy and take some more watercolor classes. They always inspire me to do better work, and dig deeper.
Love and Hugs
Wanda
Tanna, you are no longer just dabbling with watercolors. You are doing very, very well. I am proud of you. I would love to be able to paint like that. Keep it up. You have much more inside yourself to explore.
truly beautiful. the intricacies of the shirt fabric that you were able to capture and control are wonderful! GREAT job. :)
Beautiful...what talent and how much fun, I know it has to be so rewarding!
How is Tyler this time of year? Probably beautiful. I need to just bite the dust, pay the $4.00 a gallon and come site seeing.
Thanks for sharing your talent, it is so inspiring.
THATS AWESOME!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!! hope all is going well I love you and miss you xoxoxoxo
Dear Tanna, The portrait is heartwarming and dear. I understand that you see things that you would do different, but that is how you saw it at the moment. I also understand the mellowing with time. Some of the mellow is good although, sometimes I would like a little of the fire that I left behind. Thank you for the wishes for today. I need them as I am sure most of us do.
P.S. To answer your question about the crock pot. I do not own a crock pot. I don't have the experience with one to give you a correct answer, but from what I have heard my best "educated" guess would be yes.
Many Blessings to you, Catherine xoxo
This is really good! I think you've lost your amateur status and are now working in that rarefied air of a professional colorist. It is wonderful. Have a great weekend. Blessings...Mary
Oh I think that's great! The details of the outfit are done very well. I'm impressed! I'm so glad you are enjoying your watercoloring. Can't wait to see your next one.
Oh my goodness Tanna! Your watercolor of the Little Man is absolutely fantastic! What a gift! I have absolutely no idea how anyone can take watercolors and make them blend into something so perfect. Great work! And beautiful thoughts too. Best wishes for the coming week, Tammy
Tanna that is my favorite one yet...great job...
I am SO far behind in catching up on my blogs it's not even funny! The one night I tried, blogger was down, and now I'm several posts behind on getting to comment. Boo.
I love that you took the historic properties contest photos. Did you save the paper? I want to see it! Did anyone you know win the contest?
Smiled when I saw clementines for Little Man. He ate some mandarins at lunch today, and it made me think of the painting. He does love his fruit, doesn't he?
I can't wait to see what you do with your first portrait watercolor - which I think is fabulous, by the way. You may have to strip your office walls bare and start fresh with all of your new artwork! I am impressed and gleeful that (1) you had an exciting moment on a project this difficult and (2) that you shared your artwork for all of us to see. I know that those two things (especially the first one) would have been hard for you not so long ago! I do think you may have "slightly" mis-represented your "slightly obsessive" and "slightly perfectionistic" nature. Even with the mellowing you've done. I'm just sayin'. LOL!
PS - The peonies in neighbor Claire's yard are gorgeous, and I keep trying to get a photo for you because I think they'd make a wonderful watercolor, but so far, none of my photos have come out. And now the rain has really done a number on the blooms. =(
I recognize him from your past pictures. He is adorable and you did a great job.
How beautiful! Your love for the little guy shines through.
Brenda
Well, it looks pretty wonderful to me! And I recognized who it was even from my sidebar~ :)
Tanna that is sooooo wonderful. You have captured the sparkle in Little Man's eyes. You should feel so satisfied with this, but I know, you yourself see room for improvement while it looks perfect to me. I'm glad you had that moment where you felt like you were getting it. I like the little patch on his shirt pocket--good shadowing, etc. The stripes must have been tedious work! Hope you have a wonderful week ahead! I'll be helping my kids clean, paint and move into their home. Can't believe little one now lives only 10 miles from us!
Absolutely beautiful, Tanna! You are very talented! His adorable little face is so sweet and the shirt looks so realistic!
Your art is absolutely WONDERFUL!
You outdid yourself with Little Man's picture!
You have taken your watercolors to a whole new level....you captured his personality!!! Awesome!! I love it and I'll bet Amanda broke down when she saw it!
Oh Tanna,
I love it! It turned out beautiful. Great job. Wishing you a wonderful new week.
Hugs and Kisses,
♥Ana
This is lovely. Watercolor is one of my favorites and have a number of them -- but landscapes.
This is just wonderful! I had tears in my eyes when I read the letter. You've done a wonderful job in capturing the Little Man.
Yes, it's hard to stop. The group that I paint with told me that I was done my Magnolias in Gold two weeks ago. I'm glad that I didn't listen and continued to work the watercolors.
Have a great week!
Barb
Hi, This is my first time stopping by and now I am a follower. Lovely blog and painting! So glad that I stopped by.
~ ~Ahrisha~ ~
The love for the "Little Man" shows in this watercolor portrait. It's beautiful.
Velva
Sorry but I don't think you qualify for amateur status any longer! Beautiful rose! I love the tweaking. Little Man steals the show but that's to be expected. What a joyful little face!! And, I love the name "Andrew". = )
Best,
Bonnie
Tanna, this is so wonderful! Portraits are so difficult to achive in watercolor and you did a very professional job. Little Mans's skin tones are so perfect and and his eyes really sparkle. I wish I could take watercolor lessons form your teacher as they made your talent shine!
Good work Tanna. For someone just learning to watercolor, you're a fast learner. Fabric and facial expressions are hard to capture with degrees of movement, personality, texture. You've managed on all counts. Some day he'll be able to point to this and say, "My grandmother painted this."
Tanna, your love for this little man shines through your painting. This painting outshines the photo. I like what you said about "some moments".
I love the number "33"...when I scrolled down to comment on this magnificent painting, i saw there were 33 comments and i really didn't want to ruin that number by adding another one.
however...this is WONDERFUL. what a cutie and what a great job you did.
Tanna, that is amazing!! You have a real talent.
Hope you have a great weekend :)
that is beautiful,, what a talent!!
You have so many talents, Tanna... This is beautiful!
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