This week’s painting was loosely inspired by a book series I’ve always loved titled Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel. I was walking my dogs through the wooded area behind Westhills Park and saw a display that someone had set up on the trees. If you look very closely at the photo below, you’ll notice tiny houses and trinkets surrounding the trees, almost as though belonging to little creatures. The display reminded me of fantasy books I would read as a kid and I could picture the characters from Frog and Toad living in tiny forest homes like those, which made me laugh. So, I decided to paint forest creatures in very sophisticated outfits as a result!
Since my painting was set in nature, I decided to paint outside in my backyard to see how the environment might affect the experience. I brought my Cotman pocket watercolour paint set, which is ideal for travel or if you do decide to paint in outdoor settings because it’s so compact. I had researched pocket paint sets quite a bit and found that the Cotman set was the best option at a good price point. I read a few artists’ blogs and watched a handful of paint set review videos, such as Biahibuscu’s down below, to gain some more insight. Initially, it was a bit difficult to get settled, as it was a bit windy and I didn’t have a proper painting surface to balance things on. However, once I got into the flow of things, painting outside was a very therapeutic experience. I lost track of time and spent quite a while enjoying my backyard.
I’m pretty pleased with my final product. I feel that I captured the essence of Frog and Toad in my painting and hope to do more funky pieces like this in the future.
