Journal Entry Memorial Piece

Last week I had the pleasure of creating a memory piece for a family whose father kept a journal. To bless his legacy and remind them of his kind heart, his daughter had me put together one of us journal entries with his handwriting and some imagery from the entry. I've never created a piece like this before.

I've always loved wild strawberries, dogwood trees and cardinals! All such glorious creations by the All Mighty! Since painting cardinals was new to me,  I had to study them a bit to see what details I wanted to include.

What makes these birds so unique to me is their vibrant coloring and their black mask. I knew that I wanted to feature it's mask prominently.

I'm not a gadget girl. I try to stick to what I know works in terms of kitchen untensils, woodworking tools and yes paint brushes! That said, I've wondered how people make those mini paintings the size of a dime without their hands getting in the way of their view! I like to quip that I have man hands. They are not big in size, but are certainly not slender in form. It's tough to see around my chunky fingers to what I'm painting if it is in a small area. While working on this piece, I decided to purchase and try out the Princeton Velvet Touch Tight Spot angled brush. I have to say, although the brush looks a little funny, I loved using it! Here is one of those, "form follows function" moments. I could easily see what delicate areas I was working with without getting in my own way.

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Here is a little video of me working around the eye of the cardinal. Something that I usually have to use liquid mask for when I'm trying to retain a little highlight. With the Princeton Tight Spot, I didn't have to use the mask. It was so easy to see what I was doing.

Steps for creating a watercolor of a cardinal.

I'm including a little step-by-step watercolor cardinal tutorial to show how I tackled this little guy.

Close up of the finished watercolor cardinal

Completed journal entry piece.

This piece got me thinking about journal entries that I have of my dad. I may consider making something like this from one of the cards or things he has written on. I have a hard time throwing anything away with his handwriting on it. Just so special to memorialize I think.

Let me know what you think if you try out the Princeton brush or if you ever want a special piece made just for your family.