Grandma receives a Gift

Grandma receives a Gift

18" x 24"

Oil on hardwood Panel

[click on the image to enlarge]

I wanted to portray this moment when a gift has just been received. 

Particularly the child's wait for a reaction to the gift. Children take so many cues about their worth and our values by our spontaneous reactions to life situations.

Perhaps the gift isn't our first choice [or our tenth...]

But the child is precious and her feelings are the ones that are really important in this exchange.

So what will happen next? What will Grandma say? What feelings will be conveyed?

Mostly this is a reminder to myself about these moments.

If we are going to learn to serve, and do so joyfully then these are the moments that help to shape us. It is better to give than receive because the gift is, or should be, a token of love. A portion of our esteem and caring for someone.

We are always teaching.

This presented an opportunity to do two portraits in one painting. With an older model and a very young child.

Hair, skin texture, luminous characteristics, eyes and yes some wrinkles are part of the changes we see.

Lois , dear Grandmother who is now gone from us [and was a wonderful example of love], and Campbell Brock are the models.

Tony Grove Lake

Tony Grove Lake

[Logan Canyon]

18" x 24"

Oil on hardwood Panel

[click on the image to enlarge]

Tony Grove is located near the top of Logan Canyon in northern Utah.

This small body of water and the surrounding area is a favorite local hiking and picnic area.

Spring comes late to this alpine location, so the snow can linger here much later than it does at lower locations. However the roadway and the hiking trails are usually open. 

It's close to Cache Valley and Utah State University so it is a very pleasant day hike location.

Because this was painted from reference photos, one of the main problems was controlling the green. It's easy to have so much green that it is overwhelming. As you look around this painting you will find many areas that the eye accepts as green forest or meadow are in fact not green at all. Incidentally the greens were all created with mixtures, there was no green paint on the palette.

Lori mentioned that I seem to like dead trees better than living ones and for painting she is perhaps correct. Most of my landscapes will include a dead tree or two.