I know I'm a little late in posting my spring artwork inspirations for the Flowers and Babes Watercolour Series, but nonetheless here it is.
The idea of painting baby animals smelling flowers came to me this past March. It was after painting Barnyard Possy that I got started on Billy the Kid – a sweet, whimsical painting of a baby goat sniffing the flowers while bouncing and jumping throughout the afternoon.
It’s a new thing each spring. I like to go to the Beacon Hill Children’s Farm and see the baby goat stampede. Just try watching these little babes or hang out in their petting corral without giggling. It’s the best remedy for beating those winter blues. Springtime is when inspiration often sparks for me.
It also got me started on floral paintings.
Meandering through the countryside in Saanich, where spring rain rehydrates the barren fields, I watched an emerald blanket of grass appear. Dogwoods bloom their beautiful vintage-like petals, daisies peek out from their hiding places and lambs rambunctiously work out their wobbly new limbs. The warmth of the sunlight creates a palette of colours of wonderful vitality, and it becomes a painter’s paradise. The challenge is capturing it all on paper.
My second painting, Jenny Thistle, was inspired by just how adorable miniature baby donkeys are. I decided to do an underlying wash of blue for the entire painting to create a serene feel. Then I painted bundles of wild thistles for them to eat since donkeys are generally easy keepers and thistles are known to be a hearty and durable plant. Okay, okay, there might have been a little Eeyore influence in there too.
