I am a painter, so I have a lot of paintings hanging in my house. Mostly my own, but a few from other artists as well. When my babes were babies the paintings hanging in our living room captivated them. The paintings are large and have contrasting colors and bold lines. I know that when infants are 0-4 months old their eyes are developing and their sight goes through major improvements. So initially only images that are as intense as black and white catch their attention.
What I didn’t know was how captivating these images can actually be. The stimulation is, like, hypnotizing for babes and life saving for parents. Catching sight of art on our wall would interrupt the babies from crying and entertain/distract them for up to fifteen minutes! Which is light years in baby time. The added bonus is that every time they’d lock on to an image it was making their eyes stronger too.
In a previous crafting post I showed you flash cards I made for my newborns. Here, I have taken the concept one step further. A step in a much more art (less craft) direction. This is a black and white painting I made for a friend who just had a baby. I am pleased to have made an art gift for my friend, and her cherub, that is personal, attractive, and functional.
This piece is personal because this friend (who is a fabulous author who just published her first novel that you should read) and I met while we both lived in Germany. The subject matter of this painting is the fabulously tall pine trees that were such a huge influence on our German landscape. This tree stands as a symbol of our lives there, but it also possesses a few other symbolic traits that make it a perfect subject for a painting for a new soul…
Through simple research I found that the Pine has become a symbol of constancy, courage, strength in adversity, and steadfastness in Eastern and Western beliefs. This is because of its hardiness and the fact that it retains its green leaves even through winter. Of all of the trees pines are the most ancient. They are believed to contain the spirit and wisdom of old age. They have been sacred since the time of the Egyptians. The image of a pine tree is used to express creativity, regeneration, and good luck.
This painting’s function lies in it’s colors; a simple black and white. I like painting contrast, but only using two colors was a bit of a challenge. Luckily, I had some black glitter and I was able to sprinkle a bit on, here and there, to quench my desire to bedazzle. I find that a bit of glitter adds an extra element of attraction for the eye. And the painting is for a baby girl, so it also gives a twist of femininity.
And just like that I have created another work of art despite my thinking that I’d never find the time. Where there is a will there is a way.
