The Mischievous Mommy: paintings

Collaborating with my 15-month-old, Theo.

December 04, 2016

Eve and I began officially collaborating when she was just two years old and now a few years have passed filled with many changes. One of them being, Theodore, the latest addition to our family.

Eve's little brother, who is now 15 months old, is quite the tornado of energy, maybe it is just a thing with boys but his motor skills also seem further along. He is already holding a paint brush quite well and going to town whenever allowed... that being said he has yet to say Momma. (although it does come in handy at 3am when all you can hear is "Dada," and I get to roll over and go back to sleep...)

I knew that I would jump at the chance to collaborate with him one day, but it came as quite a surprise to see him already at the stage he is now. He absolutely adores painting and more often than not I find him climbing up on my office chair and trying to steal paintbrushes, which was cute at first but now I am thinking not so much. (Just the image of him standing on tippy toes at the edge of the chair as he reaches for them makes me cringe.)

I thought I would share one of his first paintings and what I believe will be our first collaborative project. I definitely see something in this piece but of course, I wanted to ask you what you see!?

One of my favourite parts about sharing the collaborative process is getting to hear what each of you see in the artwork as each answer is a reflection of your soul and imagination coming into play. It is truly beautiful how diverse our world is and it should always be something that is embraced and never feared.

Imagine the world we could create if our individuality was celebrated and put together as puzzle pieces creating a masterpiece rather than our diversity being ignorantly criticized, leading to chaos and hate.

Our differences are what makes us great. When shown the exact same piece of art, in this case created by an infant, I can guarantee that each of you will see something completely unique to you and your imagination.

The same image, different opinions. No one is wrong and no one is right, just the simple exercise of accepting and respecting another's thoughts.

There is an almost poetic beauty to be found in that.

So what DO you see?!

2016

Two Years of Painting

September 26, 2016

2016

Live PASSIONATELY

April 30, 2016

collaboration with my toddler

Two Years Later

March 24, 2016

Collaborations with my Toddler

"The Red Boat"

Two years later

"The Red Boat" was the very first, and somewhat accidental, collaboration with my then two year old toddler, Eve. The last two years we have embarked on an artistic journey (more like adventure really) to discover how many ways we can collaborate. These collaborations have bonded us not only as mother and daughter, but as artistic peers. Intertwining our personalities and passions more than I could have ever imagined, pushing both of us out of our comfort zones.

While one might assume that I have become her art teacher I am quick to admit that she has taught me more than I think I could ever teach her. She has constantly pushed me out of my box and shown me firsthand that "mistakes" are just new opportunities that just hadn't presented themselves yet. They are simply happy accidents that add character forcing you to adapt and evolve as an artist.

When this video first went viral we received many mixed reviews, while many were supportive about the idea of collaborating with a child some were not. Unfortunately, the lack of info and background story that was missing from the initial viral video was mainly to blame so I thought I would provide one here!

Children are the masters of creativity. They are born with natural talent and a passion for life as it is, no biases or lack of confidence, they simply do what comes first with no second guessing. It has been an immense blessing to be given the opportunity to create with my daughter. She has full say in every single collaboration, start to finish, most of the themes are determined or inspired by her. As she has gotten older we have begun painting simultaneously with her choosing the color palette and subject matter more often than not.

There are so many positives to collaborating with a child as long as you follow some basic rules.
First, have fun. The end product is NEVER the goal, it is the journey that is the most rewarding and memorable. Second, always ask permission. Whether you are collaborating with a child or adult, it is of the utmost importance to realize there is no leader or teacher when it comes to collaborating, you must see and treat each other as equals. Allow your minds to combine as one for a brief amount of time, work back and forth in cohesion and accept that your own ideas can only be enhanced by your partners. It may be hard to let go but that is the beauty in collaborating. It is going on a journey with someone else and taking turns holding the reins with no judgement or criticism, and simply being open to any and all possibilities.

While there are many rewarding aspects to collaborating you must still be careful when working with others, especially children. Some children may be very sensitive to change or protective over their work and that is 100% natural. You should only collaborate with children if they are receptive to the process and it builds them up, the minute you see any negative results you should definitely stop. Every single one of Eve's works have been perfect in my eyes, I am truly her biggest fan, I would never collaborate with any of them if she hadn't wanted me to! This should always be a joint project that brings joy and excitement for all involved.

Collaborating with your child, when they have given their permission and show excitement about the process, can have so many positive side effects. Collaborating with them provides you the opportunity to teach them about teamwork, sharing, creativity, techniques, color theory, patience and so many more character builders. By fostering and encouraging artistic style it only enhances their strength and confidence to embrace their uniqueness. It is so important to teach them to find beauty in everything they do, for as long as they remains true to themselves, then no other opinion should matter. Not only does collaborating provide that crucial bonding time children so desperately need but it helps you lay the foundation for so many life skills and creates a bridge for strong communication. If they know you value their opinion and ideas they will be much more likely to come to you when they face a problem.

Thank you so much for following mine and Eve's artistic journey and supporting us with your kind and encouraging comments! We will continue to create together as long as Eve remains interested, I am careful to space out our collaborations to ensure Eve never feels any pressure.

To follow Eve's solo work feel free to like her FB page: https://www.facebook.com/Eves-Imagination-182132582126973/

All of our Timelapse videos and more can be seen on Youtube, make sure to subscribe:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeFm1sLx7WbXf3KDLY4fnYw

2015

"Into the Wild" - A Collaboration with my Toddler

August 15, 2015

A Collaboration with my Toddler

"Into the Wild"

by Eve & Ruth Oosterman

"Into the Wild" started off with Eve and I playing around with some acrylic on a wooden panel and slowly morphed into a new collaboration. I had broken out a bunch of plastic utensils with the intent to show Eve how to create texture and patterns using tools other than a paintbrush. Although at first intrigued, she quickly explained she would rather just use a paintbrush and I had to leave it at that. As a parent you quickly learn that lessons are better learned when the desire is present, forcing knowledge is the quickest way to turn them off of something!

This led to me playing around with a plastic knife, mixing colors Eve had picked, to create the grass at the bottom. As with most of our collaborations I had no idea where this one was headed but something seemed strikingly familiar about it! As the paint dried and the more I stared, I saw a similarity to "Under the Red Birch Tree," and a forest grew before my very eyes. The inspiration for this piece had been so clearly laid out through Eve's wonderful strokes of paint and the stories we have been creating together.

Bear with me as we go off topic (although I promise it relates).... Eve isn't necessarily a picky eater, but she IS a slow one. Slow isn't even the right word... let's just say you pretty much have to tie her down to the chair to get her to eat, as her mind goes a mile a minute. It simply does not make sense to sit still and eat when she could grab and go do a million other things, she loves multitasking... which leads to crumbs galore and the unfortunate discovery of "leftovers" hidden all around our home. O joy. However, I recently made a fantastic discovery on how to get this kid to finally eat at the table!!! We have now turned meal time into story time!

At the beginning of our meal we determine the characters or our story, usually the lead role goes to Princess Eve, and her two knights named after her best friends join her on these quests. I will begin spinning a new tale and she will add her input in between each bite, guiding the story's direction and leading to all sorts of adventures. Of course, these stories have multiple cliffhangers that conveniently happen when she has stopped eating, if she wants the story to continue she must take several more bites.

I have never seen her eat so much!

To get back onto topic, these stories we have weaved through verbally collaborating have begun to inspire our visual collaborations. Princess Eve's adventures almost always happen in the dark and magical forest filled with creatures, both good and bad. It is a forest unlike any other with trees that move and talk, clinging to stories of their own that beg to be told. In one of our stories, Eve must save them from certain doom and so she releases her beloved butterflies into the wild to help her, together they save the day! (One day I hope to actually write out all of these collaborated stories to create children's books, illustrated by Eve and I... BUT one thing at a time right :P )

The girl in the painting is wearing red on Eve's request. That morning Eve decided to dress herself (as you can see below) and had chosen her favorite red dress with plenty of accessories to compliment. Eve watched as I painted the piece, providing her input, and asked that the girl be dressed just like Princess Eve. It is always important to me to not only include her vision, but to keep as much of her brush strokes visible as possible. For this piece I tried to limit the number of branches and trunks so the magnificent colors she chose could shine through.

We had a lot of fun creating this piece together and I hope you enjoy it! I know the very concept of painting with a child seems overwhelmingly chaotic and messy, but I promise it is so very worth it. You can create a collaboration together based on your child's favorite story, whether a book or made up, and hang it on their wall. It is such a bonding experience that will leave you with a tangible memory to be passed down, a story to be told for all time.

Don't forget to watch the video time lapse!

http://youtu.be/WpXvDM603aA

2015

CONTEST - What do YOU see?!

August 14, 2015

2015

The Siren's Song

July 08, 2015

A Collaboration with my Toddler

"The Siren's Song"

by Eve and Ruth Oosterman

The stories that Eve's imagination creates is absolutely fantastic and truly out of this world. I hope to write down some of these surreal stories one day but until then I will happily bask in the beauty of her story telling. As we paint she enjoys coming up with back stories to each piece and for this one it was of a mermaid.

This time around, the mermaid in her story was chased by a terrible watermelon octopus that locked her up in the tall tower of his underwater castle. She sends her faithful friend, an orange fish, out to find a prince to save her. The handsome prince returns to the castle with the mermaid's mother and father and they all fight the terrifying watermelon octopus and rescue her from certain doom. If you watch the video time lapse of us painting together you can see Eve draw out the watermelon octopus onto the back of the paper.

With the most recent of our collaborations, Eve has been helping me "color" in a sketch using watercolors. I love being able to paint side by side with her as opposed to taking turns, to me it really enhances our bonding experience. However, I have also discovered that the pieces we create this way end up being much darker than our other pieces. For example, the Moon Bear, is a bright, moonlit children's illustration and the Red Boat is a simple landscape that holds the potential of a story.

The Siren's Song and Red Lips both come across as much darker, intense art pieces, especially with their lips painted over, courtesy of Eve. The Siren's Song, to me, represents a darker version of Eve's happily ever after story... something more similar to a Grimm's fairy tale. Instead of being rescued the mischievous mermaid uses her beautiful, siren-like voice to lure would be rescuers, into the octopus' lair, to certain doom. Until one day a King falls into the trap and his brother, an artist, comes to his rescue. He finds a way to take away and sacrifice his hearing forever in order to get past the mermaid's enchanting voice and avenge his brother. The artist captures the mermaid and uses his paint, doused with magic, to forever paint over her lips so she may never use her deadly voice again.

And that is how the name and story for this piece came to be.

I hope you enjoy the video and stay tuned for more pieces! We have also started to take commissions for portraits using this collaborative technique so if you want to see your face in one of these videos visit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/238181081/custom-portrait-by-eve-and-ruth?ref=shop_home_active_6

Watch the Video Time Lapse
http://youtu.be/tLCzCkp0XPc

art

"Red Lips" - A Collaboration with my Toddler

June 24, 2015

A Collaboration with my Toddler

"Red Lips"

by Eve and Ruth Oosterman

It has been just about a year since Eve and I began to seriously collaborate together and we have come such a long way from where we started. I am so blessed to not only be able to share one of my greatest passions with her, but have her fully embrace every aspect of it. What once began from her scribbling with a black marker and using watercolor to create collaborated paintings has now evolved into something so much more complex. Although she provided me with inspiration, color and theme suggestions in the beginning using the limited vocabulary of a two year old, we are now able to sit and paint simultaneously as we discuss the art piece's vision and journey together.

I have loved being able to connect with Eve on such an intense, creative level that has bonded us in ways I never thought possible. Along with those priceless memories there has been an invaluable amount of teaching and guidance, from Eve. She has taught me how to accept my "mistakes" as part of the artistic process, to see and use colors in ways I never thought possible and most of all patience.

When we were painting "Red Lips"I , ironically, had to keep mine zipped shut. (which is not an easy feat for me) When I saw her take the red paint and cover up the lips followed by using black (her favorite color) all over the face I felt myself cringe. As an artist you can have such a clear cut idea of what you want that it is easy to forget and ignore all of the other amazing possibilities, she is my constant reminder of what could be. I kept my mouth firmly shut and continued to paint at her side, reminding myself that she sees things in ways I never could or will.

I am so thankful I kept my big mouth shut. Although it was far from my original vision, the painting was miles beyond what I thought possible in all the best ways. Eve made this piece sing with color, energy and passion in ways I couldn't, just by using her beautiful and creative mind.

It may be hard to let go but that is the beauty in collaborating. It is going on a journey with someone else and taking turns holding the reins with no judgement or criticism, but simply being open to any and all possibilities. It requires patience, an open mind and the ability to compromise, all skills that I definitely need to work on and so Eve has truly become my teacher.

I only hope that one day she can grasp just how much she has taught me in life.

So here is what we created side by side.

As you can see in the video time lapse, once Eve broke out the crackers she decided she was done her portion of the piece. Later on I added some details on the face and used a black pencil crayon to add depth and texture to the hair. I absolutely love this type of collaborating with her that begins off with a basic sketch which she helps me "color" in. Our collaborations have evolved from her starting and I finishing, to us painting simultaneously instead. I am excited to see what other ways to collaborate we discover next!

Make sure to watch the Time Lapse Video to see how "Red Lips" was created.
http://youtu.be/QsVMxPfURmM

Prints will be available through our Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/EvesImagination?ref=hdr_shop_menu

2015

"Blue Eyes" - A Collaboration with my Toddler

May 30, 2015

2015

The Wily Fox - A Collaboration with my Toddler

May 20, 2015

THE WILY FOX

A painting collaboration with my toddler

"The Wily Fox" is one of the largest collaborations that Eve and I have created since we used acrylic on a 2 ft. x 4 ft. canvas. I had an incredible time watching Eve create this piece and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that 80% or more of this painting is all her doing.

The first half was created a few months ago and she decided to add more recently using a bright orange red, once this layer was completed I saw the Wily Fox just shouting at me. Every time I looked at her painting I could see the Fox's eye staring at me over his shoulder, a hat casually placed about to fall off and a bright abstract, colorful coat. Although I know I could have done more with this collaboration, I really wanted to leave as much of Eve's work as possible. The colors, shapes and vibrancy that exudes from her work is so unique and special to me that all I allowed myself to do was carefully add in some facial features, bushiness to the tail and add a bit more shape to the ears and coat.

Once I showed her the final piece she was so excited to see the Fox's eye and wouldn't stop talking about how we both painted it, of course she loves to mention how the tail was made from her adorable fall. (As you can see in the time lapse video)

Here is what the first layer looked like.