A Fairy, a princess and a fireman....

"Baby Blues" oil on Canvas 12"x12" is complete and awaiting approval by her momma.

So a Princess, a Fairy and a Fireman go to a tea party.... miraculously no dishes were harmed in the making of this picture.

 

Recently my three year old daughter and I have been having a rough time connecting. She has not been listening to me and has been... well acting three. I get so frustrated with her and some days it feels like I am always correcting her or sending her to timeouts. Then I realized we had not been having many special moments together recently. I have been busy with Christmas recovery and business growth. She would act up and I would get frustrated and that would push those connection moments even farther away. So the other night after I sent her to bed for the fourth time in one night I realized I needed to reconnect. I went in to give her an extra hug and to say a prayer together. We prayed for patience and for good listening. Then I asked her if there was anything special we could do together.  Of course a magnificent tea party was in store for the next day.

 

Maybe things have improved...and maybe they haven't but we did have one great tea party.

Tea for two

Tonight I started a new still life inspired by my daughters imagination. She can pretend for hours and tea parties, art and the color pink are her current favorite things.
It took me a while to get the composition of this still life nailed down. I started with no crayons and a strawberry shortcake seated at the other cup. I like this better because it includes the viewer in the tea party and improves the composition.
I did not get it completed in one night like I did last nights but it is well on its way.
I started with a different colored ground under this painting and prefer the red ground under the paint from last nights painting. The colors on this painting are more vibrant which suit the subject but I just don't like them as much.