A Collaboration with my Toddler
"Mr. Hare"
by Eve & Ruth Oosterman
It has been quite some time since I have been able to update this blog with a new collaboration, between adjusting to a new baby, a month of our entire household being sick to a number of other life events, it has been one busy year for us. That being said I am super excited for a quiet (fingers crossed) winter, filled with painting and creative experiences with Eve and maybe even our new little one, Theo.
Despite all the craziness these last few months, Eve and I have continued to create and paint with one another. We have roughly 10 collaborations on the go that I am slowly wrapping up, this being the latest one we have finished.
I was sketching out a hare when Eve decided she wanted to help me paint it. Since she has always been excited for me to collaborate with her work I understand the importance of letting her do the same to mine. Although I am her parent and she is my child, when it comes to creating I see us as equals and treat her as such. I hope by treating her as my artistic equal, to build up her concept of teamwork, sharing and to ensure her artistic confidence is never shaken and only increases.
Being an artist and remaining true to your personal style is incredibly difficult when you can be met with criticism, which inevitably every artist will face. I truly hope that through collaborating with Eve and fostering her artistic style it only enhances her strength and confidence in her uniqueness. To find beauty in everything she does, for as long as she remains true to herself, then no other opinion should matter.
Eve and I painted in the hare as we sat across from each other, turns out painting upside down is not nearly as easy as it looks! With all of our watercolor paintings, Eve determines our color palette and I use a wet brush to spread out the colors she has already applied. This way her contribution to the collaboration becomes the foundation for the entire piece and the beautiful, magical world of her young mind becomes the inspiration and direction.
Once Eve decided she was finished painting, I let it try and returned to it later with white acrylic and black watercolor paints. Using those shades I added depth and definition, then I used a wet paintbrush to manipulate the dried watercolor paint to achieve the final piece.
I hope you enjoy "Mr.Hare." Eve and I talk about Mr. Blueberry Giraffe's adventures all the time so when she saw the finished painting she laughed and said Mr. Hare ate too many raspberries! Don't you just love a child's mind...
Stay tuned for our next collaborations and don't forget to watch the time lapse video for this piece.
