Sweet Happy Boat

Ahoy, Little One is throwing a boat party! How cute is that. This summer has been so warm that she was in the mood of hiring a boat and inviting her closest friends to cool off and check out all the fauna and flora in the sea. Playing role of kawaii boat captain, her guest list includes her best friend Lica-chan with the pretty red dress, Naughty Ginger Kitty, Bunny Pink Ears, Teddy the bear and Hello Kitty! And away they sail… So adorable they all look, and such a beautiful boat and amazing surroundings that of course I had to paint about it!

A Colorful Start

And now… the fifth and final painting from Tracy Verdugo‘s art retreat in Italy a month ago! How time flies. It took me some time to share here since I was working on the finishing touches. And what fun it all was, starting firstly with scribbling down on a huge Mural-sized 18×24″ Strathmore mixed media paper (300 gsm) all the symbols and patterns we came across during our excursions , Then layer after layer of collage paper and paints were piled on eventually resulting in one colorful heap of “mess”. A beautiful mess it was too. Even I was reluctant to go further to the next step!

Negative Space Art

Nevertheless, I eventually managed to take the plunge (excuse the pun) and created a negative space painting of the sea with Marine Blue and a bit of Indigo acrylic ink. Out of this space emerge the cute colorful boat and some pretty fishes swimming about. Then time to draw and paint all our happy characters having a party on board! A variety of acrylic paint, markers and gouache were used for them. The good thing is I knew exactly what I wanted out of this piece and was very much determined to make it all as kawaii as possible. And it sure turned out very kawaii indeed!

As you gathered, I had a lot of fun working on this painting! It was Tracy and the other participants from the workshop that made it all the more exciting and enjoyable too. Although I was unable to finish it to my liking before leaving Italy, I preferred not to rush and resumed it at home with the comfort of my own home and art supplies. So happy with it that I’m getting it framed and hung. Whenever I look at it, I can remind myself of this wonderful workshop through this sweet happy boat with Little One enjoying with her friends!