Toy Box Whale
Hello Friends,
Yesterday I spontaneously decided to paint! AND…this is not watercolor; it is acrylics. I have not used acrylics in a really long time! They are more challenging and frustrating to me than watercolors. AND…it is my first whale painting! So why did I call it “Toy Box Whale”?
Well, there is a reason for my madness. This piece of WOOD used to be the bottom of our son’s toy box. It measures 28″ x 16″. For years it was filled with all of his stuffed animals. When he moved out last year, the box and stuffed animals stayed where they were. A couple of weeks ago I decided to pack up the animals along with other stuff in his closet. Some things were packed, but some were sent to Goodwill.
I didn’t want to get rid of the toy box, though. Years ago I stenciled and painted our son’s first and middle name, a teddy bear, and hearts when he was about two. (That was before I began teaching myself to draw and paint.) My husband suggested keeping that part, so when I took it apart, I decided to keep all the pieces. So I disassembled it and kept everything except the lid. A long time ago the lid broke and couldn’t be fixed. Each piece is thin white plywood. The side and back pieces are framed in a light wood. I am trying to decide what other ocean creatures to paint on those pieces. Perhaps a sea turtle and a jellyfish on the small ones and maybe an ocean scene on the longer piece.
The smaller pieces can be easily hung on a wall because of the cut out handles in the wood frame. However, the whale piece will be trickier to hang, because it is just a flat piece without any wood framing. So until I figure out how I’m going to hang it, the whale is sitting on our keyboard in the living room. (I haven’t played it in a long time.)
Our son’s old room is painted a light blue, so I am thinking of repainting it the same color and then making the room into a sea creatures room. It will most likely take me a long time since I am not done with my writing class yet, though. I really hope to be done with it in a couple of months! I had to ask for an extension on the due date of my story. I added and subtracted text as I was editing it for what I hoped would be the last time, but…now I have to retype it. I am probably going to finish it tomorrow. Then I also have to write the cover letter for an editor as the other part of the assignment. So after days of writing, I decided to paint for a change!
I hope everyone is having a great weekend. We are having beautiful spring weather here. We had a pretty good rain a couple of days ago. It is sunny but cool.
Have a wonderful day, and give someone you love a big hug. 🙂
Posted on April 8, 2018, in Art Talk and tagged acrylics, colored pencil drawing, painting, pencil drawing, toy box whale, Watercolors. Bookmark the permalink. 28 Comments.
An excellent whale painting. I thought it was a photo!
Thanks for following my blog, which is very much appreciated.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Wow, thanks, Pete! Again, I can’t believe I missed your post on my blog from last year!
Best wishes to you as well. 🙂
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You’re welcome. I look forward to reading your articles.
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You did a great job of that whale and I liked that you re-purposed the toy box. It will look wonderful on freshly painted walls in the re-purposed room. A good idea to put all your sea creatures on the walls. I’m curious about your writing class. What is it about? I’m always looking for one here but so far no luck.
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Thank you very much, but I have no idea when I will get around to starting in painting the room. Hopefully, things will turn out the way I am envisioning them.
I am taking the class called “Writing for Children and Teens” through the Institute of Children’s Literature so it basically teaches how to write articles and fiction for ages 2-18. I started out wanting to write picture books, but now I am more interested in writing YA fiction now. Neither is easy for sure!
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Wow – this is gorgeous! I can’t believe it was painted on wood. It’s easy to feel the whale’s playfulness and I love the look of the water with the droplets glistening. A sea creatures room sounds perfect to me. Thank you so much for your wonderful review – I really appreciate it!
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Thank you so much, Sheila! I have to say that your book inspired this painting. Just reading about all the different sea creatures you mention made me want to get back to painting them!
You are welcome for the review. It is a wonderful book! 🙂
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This brought tears to my eyes just hearing that my book could have had anything to do with such a beautiful work of art. That makes it all worthwhile – thank you!
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Awww! Well, it did! And thank you. I needed the inspiration. 😁
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Awww…that means a lot to me! Just reading about diving in the ocean was so inspiring for me. I went abalone diving once about 30 years ago. The water was exceptionally clear that day. It was a lot of fun. Of course we couldn’t use tanks, just snorkels, but I’ll never forget how beautiful it was. I am going to start sketching some jellyfish soon. I am sure your book has touched many people, Sheila! Big hugs to you. 🐳🐢🦑🦈
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Wonderful! This looks really good! It’s nice you have been able to use parts of the toy-box to paint on.
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Thank you, Clare! I am feeling anxious to start sketching something to do on the smaller pieces. I didn’t really “plan” this one. But I want to finish my panda bear first.
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Patsy, great acrylic painting! And great story about your son’s toybox too. I understand not wanting to let those things go. I am so envious of your skill!
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Thanks so much, Tiffany! I think I am almost ready to send you my story if you still want to read it. 🙂 Yes, there is probably still too much of the kids’s stuff around here that I haven’t been able to part with yet. 🙂
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Any time, Patsy. I can’t guarantee same-day turn-around. But I can always fit in time to read a story!
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Great! Thanks, Tiffany! I just printed out another copy after some editing. My instructor gave me until the end of the month to finish the assignment when I only asked for a week, but I still have to do my cover letter. So after I proofread it, I’ll send it to you.
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This is fantastic, Patsy! You did a great job. I’m happy you had fun switching things up a bit.
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Thank you, Jill. It was one of those afternoons when I needed a change! 🙂
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I noticed it right away – you’ve switched to paint. It looks great, and I bet it was fun to do.
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Yes, I go back and forth from drawing to painting. Thank you Anneli. It was fun! I’m glad you like it. 🙂
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I used to dabble a bit in painting and remember it as being a lot of fun. I enjoy seeing what you come up with next.
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Really Anneli? Why don’t you paint now if you enjoyed it so much? 🙂 Go for it!
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I’ve been writing so much and it’s very time-consuming, but I will think about getting back into it,
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Yes, I have been finding it very challenging to do both! I don’t think I’m going to take anymore writing classes for a while! 😉
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It’s so hard to do everything we love. Never enough time for everything.
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That is so true! Perhaps if I were an octopus, I could get more done with all the extra “hands.” 😉
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LOL!
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