Oregon Coast

Posted byJill Millward ArtworkPosted inArt, Beach, Landscape, PaintingTags:, , , , , ,

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18×24 oil on canvas

I’m all done with this one and I am so happy with how it turned out, I’m not sure I want to part with it.  I’m sorta sad to finish because I was having such a good time watching these kids come to life.  And this is the piece that I struggled with at the front end trying to put together a composition that would lead you into the painting.  I’ve decided to do a beach scene with a whole bunch of people, maybe one that I can keep adding more and more people to and have it go on forever.  Like writing a book that never ends.  I wonder if authors feel let down when they finish writing a book they love, or if they are relieved, or feel satisfied.

This is a commission piece for a very good friend.  The kid in front in the orange shorts and the girl standing in back pointing are my friends kids and the other two are her nephews.  The kid squatting in the front is a boy with lots of long hair.  I’ve known 2 of these kids for a long time, since they were about 3 and 5 years old, the boy in orange is the same age as my oldest son and the girl is just a bit younger than my second son.  They lived just down the street from us.  (Their mom Angie is a delight.  She found my son Sammy (when he was 4) when he set out to find me at the hospital the day I gave birth to Winnie. My little runaway dressed as Boba Fett.)

Anyway…My friend wanted to give her mother-in-law something special for her birthday and thought she would enjoy a painting of her grandkids on the beach by where she lives.  I’m guessing that these kids were visiting their grandma when the original reference picture for this was taken.  My friend was choosing between having me paint a portrait of the kids faces or a scene like this one.  She chose this with the hope that it would capture the individual kids personalities through their body language and movement.  And it does!  I love painting figures so much, and have been wanting to paint a beach scene for a while.  My favorite things came together.  And my friend loves it.

I’ll try to take a better pic that is less blurry…FullSizeRender-97IMG_4804-2IMG_4800

20 thoughts on “Oregon Coast”

  9. I remember your post about the composition for this painting – it’s worked out beautifully Jill, you must be thrilled! I feel a little sad for you, as you seem to have enjoyed it so much, and personal for you too. However – how pleased is Grandma going to be when she gets this! It’s really beautiful, and something a little different from your usual portrait. Fabulous.

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  13. I love the painting Jill and the story behind it too. Parting with something we enjoyed doing is really difficult but I’m so sure that this gift will make their grandmother so happy.

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    1. Thank you, thank you! I just signed it (so hard for me to do) and let her know it’s ready to go! I am really happy with this one. And it made me so anxious getting started…but they all do! 🙂

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