To Church We Go... Again

Can I have that back?

That's not a question I often ask after delivering a painting to its new owner... but I did this time.

I already wrote about how I came to do this painting on a blog post from April 5th. The Pop in this painting is my brother; we share a birthday, and I thought I'd make this a gift for him.  As it turned out, my niece (the mother of these two little ones) was visiting when I went to deliver the painting.  To make a long story short, I said I'd just whip up another one... Oh, if only it were that easy!  I always think it will be for some reason

Actually, it wasn't too hard, but although they were supposed to look exactly alike, I liked the second one sooooooooo much better.

So, I just asked for the first one back.

I wiped out the Nana's face and made it fuller which made her look happier.

I straightened her front leg which made her look thinner.

I thickened her back calf which made her stand straighter and look younger.

I added a vertical fold in the fabric of her blouse which made her seem to stand straighter.

Then I went to work on the Pop.

I added some to the top of his head which made his head not look so squished.

Then I went back to work on the second one after seeing what was better in the first.

I added some bright to the sun-side folds of his pants. 

I straightened the roof line of the church.

And I finished out the last tree.

Then I let Pop choose his favorite to take back home.

Which do you think he chose?

To Church We Go!

Do you ever paint your family?

All the time!  It's just that I have all these good looking brothers and sisters who've provided me with all these beautiful nieces and nephews who have given us all these adorable kiddos!  

The pop here just happens to be "Little Curt"... only a little older. :)
And the big brother was the star of "Mama's Kiss" a few years ago. :)

This is another example knowing I wanted to paint this from the first minute I saw it.  When my niece posted this picture, I immediately told her how much I loved it.  She told me the picture's story which was even better than I'd imagined.  They were on their way to Christmas Eve services.  My reaction?  "Oh, Katie!  I love that... but do you have to live in San Francisco!  Could we pretend you live in Wisconsin so there would be snow?  Maybe your church could be a little white wood building with a steeple on top? And, there could be twinkling lights in the trees?"  But, no... that's a different story.  I love this one just the way it is.

This is also another example of me getting myself in trouble by trying to change things.  There was originally a large space between them; the nana and the little one were actually quite a bit further behind the other two.  I knew I'd have to deal with the shadows, but I didn't think further.  By moving them closer together, it messed up the placement of where the trees fell. Although unexpected, that one wasn't too hard.  The big problem came after I realized that the two in front were smaller because they'd have been farther away.  Unfortunately, I didn't catch that little issue until after I was quite a ways into the painting... Anyway, after a little time of depression over it, I got back to it.  Some things are worth the trouble.

Although I've never seen this little church, I am so thankful for it.  It welcomed my own "little one" into its open arms when he moved to California last year. :)

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