painting — Blog — Holly Forrest Artist

That is the title that I am thinking about giving this painting below-

Two Amish boys, coming home from work in the fields.

Does it make sense? The boys have been working in the fields all day planting new asparagus plants for a neighboring farm. They are tired, worn out and ready for supper. They are discussing the frog they caught with their friend Jesse up the street from the little pond hangout, where all important meetings take place round a campfire. Life revolves around seasons, “putting up” food and family. “Freedom!” And of course, their ancestors have fought for it.

This painting I need to put away for a few days before coming back to it so I can see it clearly. That arm has some much needed TLC!

The last couple of weeks have been a bit slow for me as I have not been feeling well. The flip side of this is that I do well sitting and painting. These are the three paintings I have been working on.

Bearded Iris against the aging stuccoed wall. A good reminder how nothing lasts forever.

Different things we have been doing as a family…well, first of all, I am so thankful for the older kids and their help. They have been making sure things I usually do are taken care of, like laundry and meals. During Christmas break we enjoyed family time, visiting with our extended family and friends, opening presents and enjoying a big meal. I finished a knitting project I started three years ago. And I have been framing, a lot! But that is for another newsletter!

Building some neat lego structures with Charlie.

Blessings from our family to yours,

Holly

Click here to pre-order the Freedom painting

PS ‘Coming Home’ is the title that we settled on for the above painting.

“Writing a journal is satisfying in that I can type my thoughts without losing the flow of understanding.” ~Dorothy Dupont

Over the years I have filled many journals with sketches of just everyday things. I love to see the extraordinary in the simple things in life. When the children were younger sometimes we would go on outdoor excursions to study nature. Off we would go into the woods and fields with paints and watercolor paper and paint what was before us. Together we learned about flowers, mushrooms and toadstools, different types of feathers, the difference between dog and cat paws, etc. Somethings I had to go out on my own, without children and distractions so that I could study certain things like butterflies.

Most of the sketches, though, in these books are of the children as they were playing or sleeping or of the family pets and farm animals. Some of them that were really good drawings became gifts to people. These sketches would take anywhere from a few minutes to half hour, tops. Good for learning to do things quickly and flowingly. Winslow Homer, when he started out his career, was an artist for the newspaper during the Civil War. He would go out on location and draw the battles. In this way, he became good at illustrating things that moved and it strengthened his skills as an artist, making quicker decisions and better judgment regarding composition of the page and choosing materials and all the other things that go into making excellent artwork.

Son sleeping. Studies of facial features.

Hope you enjoy these little glimpses into my journals. I know one of my favorite things to do is to look at the drawing studies of famous artists. Leonardo Da Vinci is well known for his sketches of everything from people to inventions. Hope you have good week!

Love,

Holly

P.S. For those of you who are waiting for the cards, they are done at the printers. Today I will be picking them up and will upload them onto the website. Thank you for your patience!