portrait

Babysitting our Grandpuppy

/ Jodi / 26 Comments
Trevor McKinney Original Watercolor – 8×10 by Jodi McKinney

Babysitting our Grandpuppy.

As most of you know that have been hanging around here for any length of time, I am the fortunate grandma of two beautiful granddaughters to my oldest son and daughter-in-law.  You may not know, however, that I have an adorable grandpuppy to my youngest son and daughter-in-law, and we had the pleasure of having him over for a weekend vacation when his Dad and Mom went away on a little trip recently.

Charlie was such a good uncle to his young nephew, Trevor.

He got a bit annoyed at times with Trevor’s puppy energy and enthusiasm, but he properly warned and then gently taught him when “enough was enough!”

It was so fun having sweet Trevor around.  He never left my side, and I was told he may have missed us as much as we missed him when he went home.  He often comes to visit, however, so we are sure lucky!

I just had to paint a little portrait of his sweet puppy face and eyes for his Dad and Mom.  I cropped and used a bit of artistic license from the photo above I took from his recent stay.

Love you Trevy!

Happy #WorldWatercolorMonth!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

There once was…

/ Jodi / 46 Comments

LJM One Year Old Portrait Watercolor 11×14

There once was a little girl
whose Grandma loved her so dearly

she wanted to paint her portrait
to honor her first birthday.

Though the painting didn’t nearly capture
the little girl’s character and charm and beauty,

hopefully she will
someday realize

there once was a Grandma
who wanted her to remember

how much she meant to her
and how much she was loved

that she tried to paint her portrait
and it was done with lots of love.

 

My second granddaughter recently celebrated her first  birthday.  This painting is not meant to be framed or hung, and it surely doesn’t come close to depicting her beauty. But it was painted to be tucked in a memory box as a little keepsake and token of love.  I am going to try to paint a portrait every year of each of my grandchildren for the sole purpose of tucking it away to save.  I like to think that perhaps one day when I am gone, they will occasionally look at them and cherish them as keepsakes of a Grandma that loved them with her whole heart and soul and bring back sweet memories of happy times spent together.  Love you Sweet Baby Girl!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

#WorldWatercolorMonth

My First Portrait Subject in Watercolor

/ Jodi / 87 Comments
cgm-watercolor-8x10-artistico-fabriano-300lb

My Sweet C – 8 x 10 watercolor – 300 lb Artistico Fabriano

I am typically a more “impressionist” style amateur watercolor artist.  (At least that is what I consider myself.)  I don’t necessarily try to exactly replicate something, but more try to interpret my impression of how it makes me feel.

As many of you know, I am a new grandma for the first time, and ECSTATIC doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about that!

So you are probably not surprised that the first subject I chose to attempt a watercolor portrait of is my sweet little granddaughter.

I didn’t do her beauty justice, but the process of looking at her picture and painting her brought me a lot of joy.  It was a fun experiment.  I was hoping it would be nice enough to give to my son and daughter-in-law for a Christmas gift framed, but I am not happy enough with how it turned out, so that idea didn’t work out.

I decided to post it anyway, though, as my first watercolor portrait.  Hopefully I will look back some day and compare it to something much better.

My sweet granddaughter, on the other hand, is absolutely perfect!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Charlie’s New Year’s Resolution

/ Jodi / 33 Comments
Charlie watercolor by Laura

Charlie – by Laura @ createarteveryday

Hi Friends!  Charlie here.

Have you missed me?  It’s been a while since Mom has let me guest post.

What do you think of this beautiful watercolor painting of me a very dear and talented friend gifted us with for Mom’s birthday?!

Thank you so much Ms. Laura @ CreateArtEverday!  We really surprised Mom when the card showed up addressed to “Mom” with no postmark or return address except for my paw print!  Thanks for helping me make her birthday even more special! You are the best!

I must tell you, I am kind of glad the holidays are over.  We had FUN – lots of parties, lots of food, lots of friends and family over, but I am POOPED!

I stayed up the latest I have ever stayed up in my life on New Year’s Eve!  Company didn’t leave until after 1:30 am, and I didn’t want to miss a crumb moment of the festivities, so I stayed up way past my usual 8 pm bedtime.

Santa came to our house too!  He must have received my letter and agreed that I WAS a good boy, because my stocking was overflowing with new toys.  He even remembered the FIVE GOLDEN Bones I asked for!  YIPPEE!  Thank you Santa!  Four are already gone.

Mom tells me this is a New Year and a time when many make resolutions to be better.

I have decided I am going to do my best to make my family feel loved and appreciated.  I think that is one of the most important jobs of a family pet.  Don’t you agree?

Unconditional love is so easy for me to give, and it sure makes my Mom and Dad happy.

Happy New Year to all of you (and your family pets!)

Woofs & Wags,

Charlie