New Horse Design Based On Tradition

I started out with a drawing that combines several different, traditional design elements to create a new horse.

 

Next I filled in the drawing with watercolors and acrylics.

Here is the completed drawing. My next step will be to paint 2 wooden horses.
One will be freestanding to see what it looks like in 3 dimensions and the other will be a Christmas ornament to see how it looks flat.

Here are all three finished horses. It made me laugh because laying the ornament down on the page and standing the other horse up looked almost like the new horse design was jumping off the page and becoming real.

From this photo it's difficult to tell which horse is paper and which one is wood. I may use both versions on merchandise in my zazzle store. Depending on what sort of look that I'm going for.

Here's a better view of the wooden Christmas Tree Ornament.

Here you see the freestanding dala horse both standing alone and joining the collection of other horses that I have designed and painted.

I think it fits in pretty well, don't you?

New Years Resolution and the Dala Horse

Whether or not you believe in making New Years Resolutions, you can't argue the value of making positive changes.

The first place I'm starting is going through my last years sketchbook and following through on my drawings and ideas.

I started by revisiting my sunflower horse design. This time I used Jo Sonya Acrylics that come in a  more muted color pallate than I normally use.

While this may be fine with some people, I prefer a lighter, brighter approach that would capture the energy of my original watercolor.

My next project will be to carve and paint a wooden horse based on this color pencil and ink drawing.

When I've followed the rest of my designs through I'll be able to start some brand new designs for this year.

The nice thing about this is that I'll never have to worry "what if I'd done this one". I'll know for sure and have something tangible to show for it.

Painting Yard and Garden Art

Some of the recent designs have been inspired by junk mail. Today it's ukranian easter eggs and garden wall hangings.

I go back and forth between that sort of design and old , favorite designs that I paint from habit and memory.

I added 3 more posts today and am starting 3 more now.

As spring approaches I'm trying to come up with ideas for something to paint on the top and base rails to pull the whole project together.

Brush Stroke Practice and Design Inspiration

Inspiration, Junk Mail and Design Ideas

I discovered a plate that I liked in a cooking catalog and put the clipping in a little design notebook that I've started. The features that I liked best were the combination of colors and the idea of layering the flower shapes to fill a larger space.

I experimented with changes in both the flowers and leaves and decided that I liked the light blue the way it was in the catalog better. It was easy to add it inside the darker blue that I had painted and that seemed to improve it a bit.

The design on the plate was outlined which gives it quite a different look which I like but wouldn't find practical for the deck spindles I'm practicing on or to adapt and paint much smaller on Dala Horses.

I tried painting variations of some of the designs as I considered what I might use them for in the future but for now they just continue to make my house look interesting.