Page 83 - The Decorative Painter Fall 2014

The
Prince
Peppermint
ERIKA JOANNE
ACRYLIC
Close your eyes and you can almost hear the French horns and string section
of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite “March” with each stroke of your brush.
Designing for me is a magical process that comes with many surprises and a struggle or two. It’s not at all instantaneous, but more like a search or treasure hunt. I’ve learned that patience is a very important key
when creating, and it can open up the windows of inspiration and discov- ery. Inspiration leads to more inspiration and ideas lead to more ideas, but it doesn’t come without some work on my part.
Here’s a sampling of how some elements of the Peppermint Prince were born. A whimsical world of peppermint candy was the starting idea and a friendly royal prince was born. A mustache, beard, and teeth were a given, and one must have a tongue. The hair, what to do with the hair? Does he actually need hair? Yes, of course, he needs hair!
I had to begin to think on everything for a bit, while continuing with other elements of the design. The candy stripes and swirls came together, and after some pondering, the coat and nutcracker base were painted. Colony Blue was chosen and seemed to go well with the reds and pinks in the design.
Now back to the hair—there is a point where you have to push yourself. It’s important to stay with it because that’s when the really fun surprises come into play. With time, patience, and after many attempts, something happened. A slight movement of the hand, and to my surprise, the rolls of hair changed po- sition in a new unplanned way. The new wiggy hair formed a triangle and was the perfect touch to my whimsical prince. After all, he did need some fanciful curls to add to the charm of being a proper Peppermint Prince!