A tree grows in Fort Worth

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been working on a project for my granddaughter's nursery.

I started by painting two 3'x3' canvases to match the wall color.  A very thin, brush-stroke-y coat of the very pale blue looked like sky, so I decided against a second coat.

 

Since I wanted to paint the sides of the canvases, cat food cans came in handy for elevating them off of the newspaper-covered dining table.

Then I started sketching in the tree.  I cut out four leaf shapes to trace around, so I could position them where I wanted without sketching and erasing constantly.

The bird did require quite a bit of sketching and erasing before I had it to my liking.  This is the third bird I sketched and the first I didn't erase.  You can still see some of the un-erased outlines from the first two.  The tree trunk also got a lot of adjusting before it was just the right width.

The painting begins.  Jennifer had the idea for the initials carved painted in the heart.

The bird required outlining so that the wing and other details would show up well when the painting was complete.

Two days of painting and it's done!  The colors were chosen to match those in the nursery bedding and other elements in the room.

And since it was Sunday evening and Jen promised chili for dinner, I headed over to hang it in Kaylee's room while the leaves were barely dry!  We actually used Velcro to attach the canvases to the wall.

I love the way the nursery is turning out.  Just a few more touches and it will be complete.  I can't wait for sweet little Kaylee to arrive so she can move in!