One last submission for the Lilla Rogers Studio, for the Global Talent Search.
I have no expectations for this submission except to be able to learn more from the process and have fun remembering!
The them is playground and I went scouring for photos of vintage playground equipment.
I started with the multi-colored round spinny thing.
Then I found a photo of an old horse on a spring and knew that would be what I would use.
I layered the background with lots of gesso and super wet watercolor and searched some old children's books for the right colors to fill in the horse in a collage style.
I was fairly obsessed with horses as a kid.
The ones outside of K-Mart, ones at the fairs, merry-go-rounds, on T.V., in books, I had a collection of them, well, you get the picture!
A little known fact:
I spent the better part of a year on my hands and knees as a kid with my friend down the street, pretending we WERE horses. I had a wicked neigh.
When I was ten, I was convinced we could keep one in the front yard and he could just graze away and our life would be so good.
My horse would be so gentle and strong! He would be my best friend, and I would tell him all about my day and he wouldn't be any trouble at all.
Never mind the fact that I lived in a tract home that was up against the freeway.
About five years ago, my husband gave me horse riding lessons for my birthday. As obsessed as I was about horses, I think I had been on a real one a grand total of two times.
I had a blast for about six months, and it was a dream come true. Yes, I did get to the point of thinking about owning one, but realized it still wasn't going to be in the cards. As a kid, you don't realize the actual cost of owning and caring for such a large animal. That, and our housing association won't allow them in the front yard.
That's what went into my "journal cover" this week.
I could have added hats or banners, or doodles, but I ended up liking the feeling of the little boy springing away, in his own make-believe world.
Anything going on at your desk this week?
What a wonderful story and trip down memory lane.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed learning this about you.
And then to get to the part of how your journal was about imagination and him springing away was the best!
Didn't we all spend hours on the playground living in a different world?
You sent me down memory lane with that thought.
Love it.
Amy
Love the soul that wrote this sweet piece. Lynn you have such a gift. Always blesses me to stop by for a visit.
ReplyDeletehugs
Kate
xo
The painting of the bouncy horse is charming, and you and I had the same child hood love of horses. I wanted my horse to live on our patio and I would keep my window open so he could put his head in my room.
ReplyDeleteOh, so nice, Lynn. I love the horse on a spring!!!
ReplyDeleteLynn, every birthday, Christmas, and Easter from the age of 4 on, I would run to the window to see if a horse was tied up outside. I dreamed of saddles left under the Christmas tree with a note tied to the horn telling me to "look outside" and there my black stallion would be! I believe in the horse gene. You either have it or you don't. I have it. You have it. My Cowboy has it. I was lucky enough to have friends with horses and I would hop on the back of them and we would gallop off for the day to places known and unknown. How they let 8+ year olds take off for the day on the back of horses is beyond me, but they were different days. By the age of 12 I had saved enough money and I finally bought my own horse to the tune of $275.00 of hard earned Farmer's Daughter money!
ReplyDeleteSo we both had to choose the Spring Horse for our GTS subject. It would have been wrong any other way. I too had the thought that the spring horse needed to escape from the playground! Kindred souls. I'm not sure I will be able to translate this feeling with my limited, and beginning artistic skills, but I'm having fun trying. Thanks for sharing your story...as that is what this art life is really all about. Best of Luck and Blessings.
Hi Lynn,
ReplyDeleteYour playground horse is charming and I love that you did not add a lot of extra things to distract from the little boy on his horse. So proud of you for entering the contest and how much you have accomplished this year with your art.
Hope to see you and the Broad Squad later this year after I get my bionic knee installed.
Blessings,
Erin