A new Grandma commissioned the painting of this rocker for ‘Gianna’ and when she came to pick it up, the first thing she said was, “This was worth the wait!!” The rocking chair was factory painted white. It is wide and solid and needed delicate decoration to feminize it.
Each whimsically painted side is unique. On one there is a little flower fairy floating away on bubbles. On the other, another little flower fairy tightrope walks on a spider web using a toadstool parasol for balance. Chicory is such a pretty wild flower; It’s delicate and yet sturdy enough to support one end of the spider silk tightrope while wild grasses support the other end! It is so easy to add too much profusion of growth when painting wild grasses and flowers and I resisted that temptation because this piece called for a delicate hand. Subtly was my aim for the butterfly clinging to a blade of grass. I chose mostly wild flowers which a child would encounter in her own world, such as Purple Vetch and Violets. However, I couldn’t resist painting these delicate pink Poppies which were inspired by some I had seen waving gracefully by a pond when I was in Japan visiting my son. Did you notice the ladybug?
