The making of the backdrop

Anyone that knows me, knows that I love a good challenge. For Christmas this year, I decided that I should paint my own backdrop. I have a degree in art. I should be able to do this and save some money, right? :) I will admit that it was fun for a while and I will be painting another backdrop in the next month or so. But, this is one of those projects where I stopped half-way through, scratched my head and said, "Darla...WHAT were you thinking???" Thankfully, my husband and children were understanding as I monopolized quite a bit of our living space for a couple of weeks. I photographed my journey so that I could share it with whomever cares. :) These are just snapshots with my point and shoot but here is the story I call, "The Making of the Backdrop."

It all began with the marker outline. Being a mother of small children, I couldn't find any real markers, so I borrowed one of those washable crayola markers stashed with the children's craftings items.

Next, I painted part of the shading which would later get mostly covered. So, I'm not sure if this step was really necessary but I was stalling. I haven't painted anything in quite a while and throwing red paint on the canvas right in the beginning did not seem wise. :)

Ok, the stalling was over. I had to get some red on the canvas, whether it looked good or not.

Then, I added the yellow tones that would become some of the highlights.

I missed a few photo steps here but I added a few washes and deepened the shadows and added a few brighter highlights.

Last but not least, I added some small details that will probably never be noticed by anyone but me. :)

The finished backdrop was then used for the Christmas photos that adorn our holiday cards this year. While I was trying to take the photos of my children, the dog would not leave me alone. Ask for attention in my house and you are bound to get it... Meet Duchess, the family dog who has been with me for the past 10 years. :)