Hello my Beautiful Butterflies and Happy June to you all.
It has been kind of a wild May, to say the least - and I say wild in a very loose sense. We've been battling being sick on and off all month long. Leonora caught her first bug from daycare and it took us all down for two weeks. All of our friends told us we would get sick once she went into daycare but we just have to stick it out. And honestly, I consider it lucky that it took 2 months for the sickness madness to begin.
We also had a lovely little cabin getaway in Austin for Mother's Day weekend (whilst battling being sick), then lost power for 48 hours in Houston the following weekend from a crazy storm. We rounded out the month with a birthday weekend for Ricky with activities, treats, and shopping. It was a pretty crazy month of life but fun and relaxing all at the same time. There's something so nice about not having a gazillion options on the table. When you're sick you just sit still and be sick. When you don't have power you pivot and figure out what to do and embrace the simpleness of it all. It of course has its negatives....it's no fun being sick, but looking on the positive side it can be nice to sit still and make the most of the bad situation.
While nursing our illnesses and hanging out without power, we spent an immense amount of time admiring Leonora's growth. She started crawling which has been mesmerizing to watch, but it's also been so fun to see her interact with our dog Frankie. He loves giving her kisses and lying with her on the ground, but she loves to stare at him and laugh. This growing bond between them made me think of this painting I made last fall. I was very pregnant....think 8 months-ish. My bump was popping and I was working on a few different commissioned pieces before my due date was fast approaching. A client reached out to have me create an illustration of her daughter with her pup taking a stroll in the city. The pics she sent of her little one with her pup were sooooo adorable and of course, had me imagining what my Frankie and baby girl would be like together as she got older. It's so bananas to think back at that time now.
I loved how cute this little painting turned out and so I decided to share it with all of you for this month's post. Back in the fall, I compiled a relaxing timelapse video of the painting with the intent to share it on social media, and I never got around to it before Leonora was born. But better late than never here it is. You can watch the video below OR for my non-video peeps I compiled some photos and words below if that's more your jam.
I hope you enjoy it!
After transferring the image to watercolor paper, I started painting in the background cityscape. Because I was in the fall mindset I kept the colors very muted and in that palette.
I gradually added in the windows and awnings of all of the cute and wonky buildings.
I think my favorite part was adding in all of the shades on the windows, and imagining what people lived there and what they were up to.
After finishing up the city background details I moved on to our main character and pup. I painted both in a likeness of the pics my client sent along and added some fall leaves on the ground. (clearly, Fall was on the brain!)
I was so tickled by how cute this painting turned out. I just wanted to jump into the illustration and take a walk with them.
I can't believe looking at this painting now before my baby was here, imagining what she would look like and how she and Frankie would get along. And now seeing them interact is such a joy.
I hope you enjoyed this post and that your June is free of sickness but full of simple moments to take it slow and appreciate what's around you.
Cheers, and Happy Summer!! Rachel