Learning to Read

I am doing a painting for the Smooth Rock Falls Public Library. I was given a few photos to work with (taken at the library) and placed elements from the photos together to compose a painting. I am changing and adding other elements as I go along, depending how they look in the actual painting.

I've changed the title of the piece from "Learning to Read" to "A Story Comes to Life" : 18 x 24" Acrylic on canvas with painted edges.

There will be a trompe l'oeil factor in the painting. I am painting it to look like the page of a story book, with the edges looking like the edge of book and a turned up corner on the bottom right right hand corner of the painting.

The girls will not only be reading a story, but be IN a story book. The background will look like typical story book artwork and as I paint in closer to the girls, I will paint more and more realistically, making the book look like it is coming to life.

Step 1:

I gessoed the canvas thickly with palette knife, let it dry and then tinted it with an acrylic wash of raw umber, to look like venetian plaster. I drew out the painting on the dried canvas.

Detail of one face.

Step 2:

Blocking in the colours to see what works and what doesn't. I've already made changes from the original mock-up.


Step 3: I am starting to paint the "Storybook" background that will resemble artwork in a children's story book.
(the colours are much brighter than shown, I'll get a good photo for the next step)


You can see I have a supervisor watching every move and making sure the artwork is up to her standards. :)


Step 5: The black and white grisaille is almost done for one girl and I'm ready to start on the second girl. I've changed my mind and will do the girls' skin as traditional oil layers but thin so they dry quickly while I finish the rest of the painting.
The tromple l'oeil is started as you can see in the bottom right hand corner.



More to come...keep watching.

Pam