Sunshine On My Shoulders Makes Me Positively Happy, Paint Party Friday

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me positively happy, especially when it is early morning and in a boat.

Being early risers, both my dad and I enjoy getting up early in the morning to go fishing.  The warm sun slowing rising above the pink rainbow horizon, glaring in our eyes, encouraging mist to rise as it kisses the cheek of the cold lake, adding a mystical feel to the morning.

Lake water still and sparkly reflecting glorious sunshine into our still sleep filled eyes, and tickling the boat's hull, relaxes our souls and assists us in our preparations for catch the big one!

Prairie pelicans, terns, geese, ducks, cormorants and gulls gliding gracefully in the warm morning sun, entertain us as they swim noisily communicating with each other and sharing fishing tips for the best fishing spots.  A great horned owl and her owlets devouring their morning feedings on the abundant rodents in the nearby larches, add to the excitement of the early morning excursion.

Cows and their calves mooing and bathing on the lake's banks, stand at watch, curious about our early morning outing.

Yes, sunshine on my shoulders makes me truly happy!

Here are the steps that I used to complete this piece... using intuitive painting, as instructed by Flora Bowley.  On this little canvas, I placed left over paint as I was painting another painting, Face 5, of the 29 Faces of February.

Finger painting to music:

Long strokes using a brush:

Finger tips adding blue dots.

Circles being added by using the mouth of a small jar and my fingers:

Adding colour and texture with a doweling and fork:

At this stage, the painting stands for a week or so, while I do other art pursuits.  Finally, I think of an idea to finish this.  The aqua coloured lines remind my of a dock and the different lines remind me of water.  I add sun and some clouds, birds, a boat with two people and fishing rods:

I decide I want the sun to be the main focus and create rays, and tone down some of the bold colours to make the scene seem like early morning. I add someone fishing on the dock. Here are some close-ups:

Highlights are added to the water and the boat, the rays and the girl.

I start to see a few faces, but decide to not to feature them.

Happy Paint Party Friday!