Childhood Treasures

Who wouldn't enjoy a wagon and a Teddy bear?

These toys bring back memories for grown up kids and make memories for the little ones....so why not save them in a painting? I painted the one above for my cousin's great grandson. I enjoyed creating this painting and thought I would share the techniques with you.

Sketch the bear in lightly with little fur detail...adding the shape of the feet, eyes, nose, ears and bow. The wagon is mostly straight lines which are easier done using a ruler.

I painted the background first using a large flat brush and a wet on wet technique leaving much white, unpainted background and adding shadowing around the bear.

As the paper dries, lay on fur strokes using a fan brush. Vary the colors brushed in for the fur and using darker fur colors to create shadows. Paint the fur in the direction it would grow and leave plenty of white spaces. Paint in stages...paint one shade and allow to dry before adding additional fur.

Eyes are painted using black, but leaving a small white highlight....or scraping in a highlight when dry. The nose is also black leaving some areas unpainted and highlighted.

The bow is added last using a wet on wet technique deepening the shadows.

The wagon was painted in wet on wet technique, also deepening the shadow areas.

Personalize your bear using colors of your choice.

Happy Painting!

Karen