Greetings! ...from Kimberly Shaw

Western Scrub Jay Painting

3' x 4' acrylic painting  on canvas © Kimberly Shaw

I painted this canvas for my son. While he was away at camp last week, hubby and I surprised him with a new room.  His older sister relinquished her slightly larger room, so we covered up the Cosmopolitan Pink with Durango Blue. The sky on this canvas was painted with the extra blue paint and white from the bead board. Since my son loves birds, I painted this Western Scrub Jay from a photo I took while at Fort Tejon recently.  As I pointed my camera at him, he ruffled his feathers and cocked his head for a pose.

 
My mom made this quilt for him a couple of years ago.
He very was surprised and loved it!

I lucked out on this huge canvas, only $2.  A local sporting goods business was redesigning their store selling their display boards covered in jersey fabric. I was there with hubby looking for a baseball bat for the son.  Wanting them only for the frames since I had a roll of canvas already I bought 5 in different sizes.  When I removed the jersey I found they already had canvas underneath.

Just Playing Around

With the left over paint I used to create my son's flag and the remaining 5'x20" strip of canvas I decided to keep painting, since the painter's canvas was still on the dinning room table which has been doubling very nicely :) as an efficient table cloth.

First I laid down my favorite color combination, blue and green, horizontally.  Next I created the clouds.

Experimenting with an old course brush I stippled the colors on  to create the impression of a garden.  My daughter, an amazing artist who paints with oils, made me laugh when she said, after I asked her how I was doing, "Well, you can only work acrylic so far, because as you know, it's just plastic."
 
I was just playing around using cheep paint and old brushes, and I had a lot of fun, too!

I hope you are having a  blessed day and can find a bit of time to be creative with whatever you have just laying around!!!  After all, being creative is an attribute we received from God our creator, who made us in His image.

The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. Gen. 2:8 & 9

Shaw Coat of Arms

 

I've been in a creative rut lately. Sitting like a log watching re-runs of "Home Improvement", I asked my family if they had any good ideas of something for me to paint.  My son asked if I could make him a flag of our Scottish family crest (or coat of arms). His class is representing the Medieval period for History Day at school. With some left-over canvas I cut a 3'x5' piece and went to work using Acrylic paint. 

I learned the colors and images have meanings, for example, the Lion means Fierce Courage, the Helmet: Wise Defense,  the color Green: Hope, loyalty in love.  The Shaw motto "Fide-Et-Fortitudine" means "Faith and Fortitude", and the slogan "Na-Bean-Ris-A-Chat" means "Touch Not The Cat."