Friends In Winter Summerland
Capturing Vacation Memories: A Painting of Walt Disney World Adventures
Embarking on a new painting titled "Friends in Winter Summerland," I delve into the joyous recollections of a group of friends who regularly get together for fun whenever they visit Orlando, Florida. The painting captures the camaraderie during a delightful round of mini-golf at one of the enchanting Walt Disney World mini-golf locations.
Commencing with the initial rough stage, I sketched rough shapes and patches of color, working in a manner very similar to the sculpting process. Utilizing brushes, smudge tools, and erasers, I tried to meticulously mold the evolving shapes, emphasizing the significance of doing the "heavy lifting" in the early stages.
Pro Tip: When working from reference photos, remember that your audience will only see the final artwork. As the artist, you are free to deviate from or stay close to, your reference. Reference can be found in photographs, but you can also find references from observing real-life situations. Frequently, I draw from real-life observation, sitting and painting what I see. Another example of reference can be still-life compositions artists create so they can carefully study shadows, values, or colors. For this piece, I drew inspiration from over half a dozen reference photos.
Disney Tip: When visiting Walt Disney World, don’t forget to visit the multitude of fun activities outside the theme parks, including the Winter Summerland mini-golf course. Disney Imagineers say the course was built by Santa and his elves. The course features Santa's "winterbago," a playful nod to Winnebago RVs. A great place to take memorable photos while on the course is in Santa's sleigh or in front of the surfing Santa statue created by Santa's elves as a tribute to St. Nick. The course offers two golfing options: a winter theme or a summer theme. Conveniently located at the Blizzard Beach water park entrance, you can use the Disney Bus transportation system to reach Blizzard Beach and the golf course. And don’t forget the other Disney miniature golf course, Fantasia Gardens and Fairways, with really fun, whimsical elements like hippos, broomsticks, and ostriches.
After mapping out the underpainting, I begin the detailed line work and the values stage. I try to strategically lay various layers of grays, a crucial step in developing a robust image. It’s in this stage I try to capture the emotions and likenesses of each friend, making key decisions about background details. While Winter Summerland offers rich background elements, I decide to opt for minimalism to direct the viewer's focus to the foreground, where the group of friends takes center stage.
Once the painting advances to the color layers, I spend time mixing the colors of the palette, trying to create a cool underlayer in light blue. Preplanning the colors of a painting is key to achieving harmonious and captivating results. At this stage, I also decide to amplify the framing elements, such as the golf club, ball, and snowflakes, to try and add a whimsical touch without overshadowing the friends.
When the painting nears completion, I lay in the highlights, which really add impact to the piece, bringing the artwork to life. The highlights layer in this style of painting really helps the image pop off the canvas and come to life.
Friends in Winter Summerland is a painting of a favorite vacation memory for a group of friends who love Walt Disney World and love miniature golf together. Can we say it’s a hole-in-one? Or is that kind of joke par-for-the-course? Sorry, that humor was just such an easy chip-shot.
