The Boardwalk

It's no secret that Walt Disney World is one of my favorite places on the planet. But did you know that of all the resorts on property, my favorite is the Boardwalk Resort?

After staying here for the first time in February 2011, the Turtle and I fell in love. The atmosphere, location, mood, everything about it is wonderful. It has it's own magic that captures you as soon as you step onto its wooden walk.

It's the perfect place to walk with your sweetheart....or walk laps at midnight to walk off 5 mason jars of sangria....

And it's also home to most yummy dessert ever - the No Way Jose

So I decided to pay tribute to my favorite resort by painting it's portrait! This took awhile, and there were many, many times I thought I'd bitten off more than I could chew. But, as we all know, the more I think I should give up, the more determined I get to complete it. So, here is The Boardwalk:

This is based on the picture at the top of this post. I was so pleased with myself when I finished this little section of the sketch, as it's the most difficult part of the painting. Perspective has always been my weakness...I still remember making an absolute disaster of my first piece (and last til now) of perspective in my high school art class. After a few attempts at giving me pointers, my teacher gave up and would just walk by shaking her head (as she probably headed to go cry in a corner). Perspective involves rulers and 'points of origin' and rules, and discipline and...blyeck. No, thank you. I'm far too impatient and go-with-the-flow with my art to handle it.

So I was super impressed with myself.....until my mom pointed out that my buildings were at an angle. Then I could barely sleep that night, obsessing with how on earth I'd fix it since it's so impossible to erase on canvas. ARRRRRRRRRRG!

But, somehow I moved on and here's the rest!

When I painted the water, it took 2 days and I was so unhappy with the results after day 1, that I had to take a walk so I wouldn't smash it to pieces. I didn't take any pictures of the water step, but I did take pictures of the creative ways I had to paint. This is a 16" x 40" canvas, so when you're painting all the way on the right side, the left seems like its on another continent, and your perspective gets all messed up! Sometimes you just need to be able to step back to get a better view.

I put mom to work keeping it steady so I could paint the sides...And no, I never change my clothes ;-)

 

And finally:

"The Boardwalk"
16" x 40" original acrylic painting on canvas

Not to toot my own horn, but this picture really doesn't do it justice. There's a lot of subtle color shadings that my little camera just couldn't capture. All paintings are so much better live!