Tropical

Lótus, the manatee

| Gisele

So much has happened in my life the last five days I honestly don’t know how I found inspiration to paint. But it happened. And I’m so happy that it did.

Let me tell you a little bit about the story behind Miss Lótus, the manatee. There is this one very important person in my life, she’s my dear friend, life coach, adventurous soul, my enchanted fairy (as we say back home “uma fada sensata”), Jacqueline.

Jacque has been one of the greatest sources of hope and optimism for me for the last many years. She’s the kind of human being that just knows what to say to you, and she does it without an agenda – Jacque is the rarest type of person, she is the type that genuinely cares. I’m so lucky to have Jacque in my life.

This year Jacque moved from Iowa to Florida, and I couldn’t be more proud of her for chasing after her happiness. Jacque is a nature lover. She loves the ocean. She loves the sun and the warmth. And as far as the animal kingdom goes, she loves them all. But one of them has a special place in Jacque’s heart. Can you guess which one that is?

So as a token of my love and appreciation for my dear Jacqueline, I made Lótus, the manatee. Lótus was painted last night while Jacque and I were having one of our life sharing moments over the phone – a call that lasted for six hours and twenty five minutes. You read it correctly.

Jacque did not know I was painting during our call, it was a sudden idea I had when we were about one hour into it. The paint took me about 2.5 hours to be finished. And I personally really liked it.

So Miss Lótus will be making her way to Florida soon, she’ll be watching her manatee fellows swimming around through the window, she’ll watching over Jacque reminding her that somewhere in the middle of a cornfield there’s a someone who adores her, who looks up to her, and who is so grateful for their friendship.

Have a great Sunday all,

G.

Brazilian Toucan – ‘Tucano Tupiniquim’

| Gisele

I have been missing home very much lately. It’s been almost three years since I last visited my home country. So I decided to start a new series of paintings that remind me of it, and that make me feel closer to it.

Here’s my inspiration, a picture off the internet.

One of the exercises I’ve been doing is to watch and replicate. The very first paintings I have done required outlines as step one. I was not confident enough to freely strike the brush onto paper. I needed some sort of assurance that the work would be “under control”. Eventually, I learned different techniques of watercolor painting and I’ve been able to freehand paint ever since.

I started by painting the toucan’s chest – wet on dry. Always start with the lightest areas of your paint, if needed use the paper as your white. I love using white paint because of its texture and finish. Art is all about personal preference.
As I waited for the chest to dry out I began painting its beak. Honestly, it was my favorite part. I love the yellow and orange combination.
As the other parts were still drying I worked on the branch that my toucan would sit on. (The weather has been nicer here in the Midwest, one of the signs of it is the paint taking longer to dry – it means the humidity levels have gone up! Thank goodness!)
Then it’s time to work with the black paint. I started off with the smaller details on its beak, eye and then body. I purposely left some areas unpainted and used the paper as my white for some highlighted points, dimensions and texture.
Painting the foliage around the toucan was fun and so relaxing. It was the step that didn’t require much precision. All I needed was my carefree imagination and a combination of greens and yellows that felt good – that was easy, green and yellow are the National colors of my home country. I just painted the leaves away…
‘Tucano Tupiniquim’

“Tupiniquim” is the name of one of our tribes. We often refer to ourselves, our culture, and anything we love and enjoy from our country as tupiniquins. It’s a culture for us. So, there it is! My Tupiniquim Toucan, a little bit fluffy, but a very happy one!

I hope you enjoyed it!

Gisele