Googly Fish Eyes in my Goggles

Today has been a pretty productive day in the art department around here.  Inside my home studio was the place that I spent most of my time today.  I was just itching to start a little 11 x 14 painting of my grandson Jonas wearing these adorable swim goggles.  I worked until the piece was done and it was just in time since the City of the World juried art show titled "H20" deadline for art turn in is tomorrow.  This will be my second entry for this particular water themed event.  I finished a piece last week that I titled "The Swimming Hole" that also features this blonde headed cutie and his older brother Judah.

Lately, I have been trying to write a little children's poem or rhyme to go along with each of my paintings or drawings to add to the story that I'm trying to tell.  In this case, I actually had the poem written first but in both cases, I knew exactly the reference photos I was going to use to create the illustration portion of my literary and artistic duo.  This is my 10th poem I've written so far.  One thing for sure...with such cute grandchildren, I am never at a lack for reference materials.

This painting, "Swim Goggles" will be added to my website within the next few days but if you are interested in seeing my other works, why don't you take a moment and check out my gallery website.  There is quite a collection of artwork there to look at.  Leave me a comment below or send me an email if you have any questions.

If you are in Las Vegas, please stop by City of the World for First Friday and check out my work and the amazing art of about 35 other talented artists.

                                               Swim Goggles

"Swim Goggles"- 11 x 14 original acrylic

By

Julie Townsend

Fishy, fishy in this brook

Please stop swimming so I can take a look

I want to take a peek at your home below

And these goggles help me see don’t you know

With them I can spend my day

In splashing fun and play

Until my skin is wrinkled and all saggy

And my swim trunks are soaked and all baggy

Seeking out all sorts of lost treasure

Spending time in pretend and fun beyond measure

This vast underwater kingdom is all mine to explore

As long as I don’t get to far from the shore!

Original Reference Photo taken by Jason Townsend Photography

"Swimming Hole"- 18 x 24 original acrylic

ODE to SPRINKLES

One thing that my 3 year old curly headed grandson always asks me for when he comes to visit is SPRINKLES.  You know the colorful little edible spots that you can buy by the jar or the tub in the cake decorating section of the grocery store.  We actually have to buy our sprinkles in a larger quantity like you get at bulk stores just to keep up with his frequent requests for the little delights.  

I have been telling him for a little while now that I was going to draw him with sprinkles on his face. He always gives me his cute little smile and you can just see the wheels inside his head turning as he is trying to visualize how that would look.   So to be true to my word, yesterday I came up with this little rough draft sketch.

I am still working out the details of how I want the sprinkles to look but I wanted to share with you this morning my rough draft and the little poem, "Ode to Sprinkles" I have written so far to go along with the concept.  

I though this blog might just add a little COLOR to your day and hopeful a smile to your face.

Ode to SPRINKLES 

      by

Julie Townsend

Let me sing a song about SPRINKLES

On the roughest days you smooth out all my wrinkles 

I love you and all your tasty brightfulness 

Like magic tiny rainbow sugar pills of delightfulness 

A spoonful of SPRINKLES before I get out of bed 

Helps me think more clearly in my head 

SPRINKLES with my lunch 

Just for color and added crunch 

Give me more SPRINKLES   with my supper meal 

There is really no denying that my love for them is real 

Give me SPRINKLES by the spoon 

I like to eat SPRINKLES by the light of the moon 

Or SPRINKLES in a bowl

SPRINKLES before my evening stroll 

SPRINKLES are perfect anytime of the day 

Give me more SPRINKLES!  Are you listening to what I say? 

First Rough draft that I did.  I added to my artistic Journal page

Sweet Rendezvous

WIP-"Fence Post Rendezvous"

The past two weeks my focus has been on my 5th piece in my series "Down Country Roads" which features the series' signature blue morning glories growing at the fence post along with the lush tall grass that grows extra tall there, uncut by the mower.  With this piece,  I decided to add some farm children.  I have such fond memories of growing up in the country where I could run and play without worry.  We lived down a country gravel road, surrounded by farmers and where slowing down to greet the horses and cows with screams of MOO would be a frequent occurrence.  

Nearly every mother on the road tended a rather large garden where the best tasting vegetables could be found.  I remember my mother often asking me to go out to the garden and pick something that would be served with our evening meal.  Maybe green beans, cucumbers, radishes or squash.  There is nothing better than fresh from the garden snapped green beans, new potatoes and ham cooked up in a cast iron skillet topped off with blackberry cobbler for desert using the blackberries that you labored to pick. Speaking from experience, picking blackberries is no easy task.   

This piece that I'm calling "Fence Post Rendezvous" combines some of these elements of my early childhood memories of country life. These two little towheads have been given the early morning chore of picking carrots for dinner but couldn't help but stopping for a few minutes to share a couple of their basket bounty with the neighbor's palomino. With his head full of curly blonde locks, I used my own 3 year old grandson as a model for the little boy at the basket.    

The debut for this piece is going to be the Elks Club Helldorado Art Show and I have just a few more days to get it finished because the call for art is this upcoming Sunday.  Sorry that this is a poor quality cell phone picture of the piece, but since it is still on my easel, I haven't taken the time to get out the good camera to photograph it.   I guess I was just really anxious to show my progress this morning to my blog readers. Rest assured,  I will be providing better images as soon as I finishing painting in the final details.  

I hope you enjoy this WIP (work in progress) blog.  I would love to hear your thoughts, comments or memories about your own "Country Childhood"  To see the rest of the pieces in this series check out my gallery tab or go to my website at http://www.julietownsendstudio.com/-gallery.html

GO BIG!

Little Bird nest we found in our back yard 

Just recently my husband was doing some much needed yard work in our back yard.  This included the difficult task of trimming a rather large mesquite tree that we planted a few years back.  Mesquites are popular native desert tree but they can be a maintenance monster.  Complete with giant thorns and the tendency to grow such a thick canopy that they often become top heavy and are easily toppled by our frequent high winds.

He and his many chain saws played lumber jack and laid waste to the branches and very soon our back yard was covered with the handiwork of his labors.  It was there among the branches that he noticed a birds nest remarkably unharmed as it lay there covered in debris.  I thought this little nest would be a nice addition to our Christmas tree so I took it and laid it on the branches.

I took note of some of the materials that this unknown bird had worked so hard to gather and weave to create a home for her family.  There were leaves and twigs which would be expected as building material but I also found what appeared to be pieces of twine added to the collection.  It made me think about a scene in a movie that was a favorite that I would watch with my kids as they were small.  "Sarah Plain and Tall"  Actress, Glen Close while playing the main character of Sarah had just cut the hair of young Caleb and she gathers his hair and tosses it around the yard so the birds can make nests from his curls.  I too was the family barber and always remembered that scene when I would sweep my boys very beautiful blonde hair out into the yard.  I would think about what pretty nests the birds will soon have in my trees.

The twine in the nest made me think about if a bird might use a piece of colorful string for nesting material.  They probably wouldn't be attracted to red string as it might draw too much attention to their nest but I thought that using this idea would make a great subject for a new sketch that I wanted to share with you.

I drew a little chickadee that was busy gathering grass and twigs for a nest when he comes across a large ball of red string.  Often in life we are faced with decisions that may seem out of character and we often choose the safe route.  That is definitely a description of how I have most often made decisions.  I am an accountant after all.  As an artist though, I find myself in the same place as this little bird and I'm ready to start casting off the safe and predictable in 2016 and push myself to a new level with my art and this blog...I think it's time to  drop the twigs and grass and THINK BIG!

Think Big