Caught Red Handed
I went to empty the bath. My daughters whistling Dolphins sat neatly lined up, peaceful and very happy looking. I decided there and then that this would be the subject of my next Artrage painting. This is the first pass. I generally work in stages and produce a series of slightly more realistic images with finer strokes each time, picking out the detail. I will use my evolving focalist technique to provide tight detail on the toys details while leaving a more defocused environment including the reflections of soft colour in the water.
Shiny Plastic Dolphins
you can't see here but they are very shiny. I will bring out the highlights with white later. There's something quite beautiful for me about the domestic order in a world of so much general kid's toy chaos. It was like a sophisticated Toy Story scenario where the kids toys all get together and relax in the hottub after the kids have gone to bed. It's like I caught them and they froze, smiling.. just like in the real Toy Story of our own imaginations.
A series of paintings of Domestic life with Childrens' toys telling the story
I can see a series of paintings emerge from this. There's often a pile of toys, books and puzzles with pieces missing in our home. Not to mention the vast army of soft toys and glove puppet characters which look on from the top of the sofa. In fact the more I think about it, the more I can visualise what's in the series. I might call it Aftermath, which has multiple connotations; both immediately and in the longer time frame. I hope you enjoy this happy image. If you squint at it, your vast powers of imagination will render it more realistic. Don't you just love the colours of the reflections in the water ? I will update it later this week as the image takes on a more detailed feel.