Reach for the Sky

Here is a question for your....."WHY ARE GIRAFFES SO SLOW TO APOLOGIZE?"  (Answer at the end of this blog)

I have to admit that this one is just a wee bit different than my usual painting as of late and there is a very reasonable explanation for that difference.  This piece is a commission piece for a local middle school and since it had to have an "INTERNATIONAL" feel to it I of course had to look for a subject a bit more unusual than your run of the mill cow or chicken as my subject matter.   I finally settled on the tallest animal in the world that also has an unbelievably comical and expressive face.   Who do you know that doesn't just love a giraffe?  I mean what says exotic and foreign better than this very leggy herbivore?  And let me tell you, this guy was a blast to paint.  When it came to colors, I pretty much used them all.

If you have followed my work in the past year, you know that I have featured several pieces of art that focused on a cow or a calf licking their nose with their long pink tongues in my "Down Country Roads" series.  Well this habit I guess, while it might be disgusting to consider, is something that is also a commonly shared activity within the giraffe family and since they have such a beautiful blue tongue I just couldn't help myself.

While the original painting, done in acrylic on an 18 x 24 " stretched canvas has been sold, there is the possibility of having prints made or I would LOVE to paint another one similar to this.  Just message me and we can discuss that possibility.  I would LOVE to paint one on an even larger scale.  While you're at it, why don't you check out my website and look at my other works?  JulieTownsendStudio.com.  Be sure and leave me a commit below and let me know what you think of my art work.


Just thinking out loud here....I wonder if a giraffe can get a sore throat?

ANSWER:  It takes them a long time to swallow their pride!

Slaying Dragons

This week I decided to paint a piece inspired by an adorable photo of my grandson taken by his dad while out on what he called "An Adventure".  It brings me back to the time when I had 3 little boys of my own and I can say emphatically that I loved being the mother of little boys.  Their energy and their adventure loving spirit would often land them into some sort of trouble.  There were moments that stand out in my memory and are not easily forgotten.  Like the time I came to work to discover that the jar of escaped slugs had all taken residence in my purse or when I found my best cooking pans being used as shovels to haul dirt from their diggings in the empty lot.

Yes, little boys want nothing more than to have a warm sunny day to explore the nature around them.  The protector, hunter and brave warrior characteristics that God instilled in their very DNA comes out in full view just like it did this day with my grandson when presented with only a field of grass and a stick.  

The action in the reference photo was fascinating and I knew I had to try to capture it.  My grandson out with his dad traipsing through a field of tall grass and you can see the spirit of adventure all over his face.   I added the stick into the composition but I'm pretty sure he would pick up one on his own very soon after this photo was snapped.  Its a natural action for 4 year old boys to pick up a stick and turn it into a gun or sword.  

I called this piece "Slaying Dragons" because I could imagine that his look of intent is the result of his mission to seek out some hidden enemy or foe as he carefully parts the grass in advance of his path.  Intently looking for movement or a spark of color that will alert him to the illusive dragon that most likely lies in wait just a few steps further up the path. Sword or dagger in hand ready to battle to prove his braveness, this little boy will grow up to someday be the strong protector of his own family.   

"Slaying Dragons"- 10x10 Original Acrylic on wide gallery wrapped canvas