I'm so excited to finally share one of the most fun things I've been working on lately! Last fall, I was approached by a group who works with Cincinnati Children's hospital on opening new branches, and was commissioned to create a painting for one of their new wards!
The concept was to explore hidden elements of nature, and needed to include a collaborative element. So I came up with a concept, and then an assortment of patients, hospital staff and administrators contributed ideas for what animals they'd like to see incorporated into the painting, and I created Fox Hollow. The final painting is 51" by 39, rendered in watercolor and pen, and has 30 Ohio native animals hidden throughout. You can see the development of my painting from concept to final below!
Concept stage: Line art.
This is the small version I did on a 9x12" piece of paper to get an idea of what I wanted to do.
Final stage: Sketch
I used the above image as a guide and built up more interest and detail onto the actual watercolor paper.
Final stage: Painting
I worked through my painting in layers, getting in light and dark contrast, building up the colors.
Final stage: Finishing details
I put the final touches on, reinked the line art, and drove down to Cincinnati for framing and delivery!
Overall I'm so happy with how it turned out, and delighted to have my work up at Cincinnati Children's hospital. I hope it brings a little bit of fun and comfort to the patients while they are there.