Throwback Thursday

Joy

7 x 7"

acrylic on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2010

sold

This is a commission I received six years ago from my neighbor. Her husband spends many hours carefully planning and tending a beautiful pond in their backyard; it has been his "pride and joy" (although now that he is a grandpa I am sure his grandchildren have taken over that title). She wanted to surprise him for his birthday and asked me to create a painting for him. It was a bit tricky because every view of the pond had either the garage or fence in it, so visually I was having trouble getting inspired to paint it even though the elements of the pond itself were lovely. I decided to suggest to her that I do three small paintings rather than one large one. This way I could focus on what her husband truly loved. And so that is how we proceeded.

Hugh's Pond

7 x7"

acrylic on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2010

sold

Pride

7 x 7"

acrylic on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2010

sold

One Down, Two To Go

Joy
7x7

acrylic on canvas
sold

Here is the first of three paintings I am working on that have been commissioned by a neighbor (sorry about the slight glare across the top of the canvas). Her husband is celebrating a big birthday this summer and she wanted me to paint his pride and joy... a pond in their back yard that he has designed and laboured over (actually I'm pretty sure his baby grand-daughter is his official pride and joy, but the pond is a close second!). After she approached me, I gave the project some thought and then suggested that instead of one large painting I could do three smaller paintings with each one focusing on a detail of the pond. She loved that idea and that quickly became the plan. I really hope it turns out the way I see it in my mind's eye because she is completely trusting me on this one.

I have to say, this little painting has been glazed within an inch of it's life! I wanted to build up the colour of the water to give it depth and richness- especially against the bright, bold  colours of the fish. In the photos she provided for me, the water looked black and I wanted to avoid such extreme darkness in the painting. I'm pretty happy with the result; I really like the composition and how the colours are working together. Once the other two pieces are finished I may have to do a bit of tweaking to make sure they will work as a group.

Next up... the water lily... it's beautiful, but the petals are going to mess with my mind!