Let Art be your Escape from Lockdown cont'd - 2

Family Garden Party after Lockdown

Naturally it's people we miss most during the Lockdown.  And I've found it helpful to concentrate on looking forward to happier times ahead.  This Family Garden Party is one of the paintings to help me stay positive.

I'm hearing from people who would like to do their own version of this painting.  So I'll try to help you get started by showing a little of my process.

As mentioned in yesterday's post, you don't need much in the way of materials.  

Begin with paper and pencil and jot down in words the people you want to include in your painting;  family, friends, pets etc.  Choose a location that will be the background for your picture.  You may want to use your garden as a setting as I did, but it can be anywhere;  park, playground, theme park, zoo, outdoor cafe, seaside etc....you get the idea.  This is important, because although it seems obvious, it will help set the happy story in your mind.

I then like to make a few doodles while thinking about the people, using just simple shapes;  circles, ovals, squares, rectangles, triangles, straight lines. No need for details like facial features.  You might like to show things like beards, sunglasses.  Think about how they dress and what they do;  one of my sons often wears a cap, and the other is rarely seen without a camera.  These are the kind of details that will personalise your picture and make the people recognisable.

Now very roughly draw the location which will form the background to your picture.  If it's to be your garden, does it have a fence?  Are there trees?  Flower beds, pots, steps, child's swing, bench.  Which ever happy place you want to take yourself to in your minds eye, scribble down the main features.  Work quickly, no need to be neat or precise. 

Then you can populate your scene by adding your family, friends and pets.  Have them doing or just being how you might see them.  It's just pencil marks on paper....not written in stone....you can make changes at any stage.  Just relax and enjoy the feel of doing it.

Next time we'll get to work on your painting.  Refer back to yesterday's post for a list of suggested materials.