Painting Memories - A Look Back on a painting I did for my Father

Hey guys! Can't believe it's Thursday already :O

For today I wanted to share a painting I did last December for my dad's birthday. I know, it's old, but I've got a timelapse and everything...so...might as well use it, right?

Full disclosure: I'm adapting the post I wrote on my off-site blog for Steemit.

Now! On to the post!

Background

So some context is in order. Way back in high school, I came up with the brilliant idea of gifting art done by yours truly for birthdays. I actually started with drawing a picture for my friend, and my family liked the idea so much they started requesting art for their days of birth as well. It’s gotten to the point where my mom has denoted the wall space above her bed frame as a gallery of my art throughout the years. Ten years to be exact.

Out of my family members, my dad was the least likely to ask for art. His side of the bed only has one piece of authentic Corinne art. However, in the past couple years he’s started to cash in on those empty requests. Two summers ago he asked for a large picture commemorating his army career for his retirement. And this past year for his birthday, he wanted another art piece.

The Theme

Our Father/Daughter trip to Oregon that summer.

Ever since I hit my 20s, I became like, 1000x more sentimental. I was seeing my parents as people, rather than just authority figures, and they were pretty cool people at that. I wanted to hang out with them more, outside the context of holidays or graduations. Initially I was slotted to join my mother and siblings on a trip to Korea, but the timing and price just wasn’t working out. Then my dad brought up a separate trip he was taking to Oregon to visit my grandparents. With a shorter time commitment and only the cost of an airplane ticket, I jumped at the opportunity. Since I was the solo sibling on the trip, it was also a great chance to pretend to be an only child for a hot minute lol.

The trip was tons of fun. Kayaking, hiking, fishing…it’s funny. When I was younger I hated fishing. But now that I was older, I appreciated it a lot more. There was a sense of freedom and peacefulness involved with kayaking out on your own on a lake, with a fly pole and a sketchbook. I caught my first trout without any assistance, and a couple others after.

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I got to hang out with my grandparents, which is always a fun time. We spent a few days in Central Oregon being rustic, and then headed out to their place along the coast, where we got to do some awesome whale watching!

FYI whales are my FAVORITE animal. I saw enough grey whales to last a lifetime (which you know is not nearly enough). We saw one do a spyhole, which is where it shoots straight up out of the water to get a good look at you. Truly the best 2 hours of my life.

We rounded the trip up with some local bites, looking for fossils on the (very cold) beach, checking out the lighthouse, and watching some glass blowing. All in all, a great time that brought back a lot of nostalgia to when I had visited my grandparents as a kid.

Turns out my dad also had a blast, because that entire trip was exactly what he wanted me to paint for his birthday. Though, of course, with moments that he specifically enjoyed.

Typically I draw one scene. Or I’ll incorporate many elements into one scene. My dad wanted me to draw several, separate scenes. He handed me a list.

The Painting

You can see from the rough draft that it would be a busy piece.

I chose to go with watercolor since that was what I had used on the actual trip. The entire painting spanned across 2 days, with substantial breaks. I was planning on using washes, something I wasn’t entirely experienced with, and on paper that I had never painted on. I learned with this painting that the paper quality definitely makes a difference in how the color shows…womp womp. I also learned I cannot paint ospreys or eagles to save my life lol.

Nonetheless, I think the painting turned out pretty well. You can watch the timelapse below to see the process!

Here’s the final product. Sorry it’s so yellow, that indoor lighting you know?

And that's the painting! Hope you guys enjoyed. Have any of you visited Oregon? What are some of your favorite outdoor memories spent with your family? Let me know in the comments!

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