First Birthday Chairs

Studying and sketching animals

For no reason in particular, I have a tendency to paint something for first birthday gifts. I wish I could say that there is some cool symbolism involved, but the truth is that I have no idea why I do it or when it started. I also wish I could say that I ALWAYS give hand painted gifts for first birthdays, but I'm simply not that consistent. If you know me and did not receive a personalized painted whatever, don't be offended!  My own son didn't get one! There isn't even a direct correlation between how well I know a person and how elaborate the gift. It is simply a matter of inspiration, motivation and of course, time. Best friends have been the recipients of on-the-way-to-the-party gift cards I scored at the local grocery store while assorted co-workers have been presented with a 150 hr hand crafted gem. It doesn't always happen this way either; again, I'm not that consistent.
One of my biggest regrets that I have worked hard (but not hard enough) to remedy over the last few years is never photographing the finished product. So many projects have been handed over, never to be seen again. Now it seems like if I tie Edward's shoes into a particularly perfect bow, it gets photographed. Its these darn first birthday gifts that I never get a shot of! Maybe its the fact that most of the time I'm still varnishing it on the way to the party or perhaps that I'm so sick of looking at it that even a glance through a lens would throw me over the edge. Whatever the reason, alphabet blocks, chalkboards, desks, name plaques, rocking chairs and countless other projects have been painted and forgotten over the years.
More recently, my variety of creations has been narrowed down to just chairs. This particular chair was quickly photographed on my friend's porch... at the party.

July 2009 

The colors were inspired by the color palate in her room. The butterfly was random.

Most of this butterfly was painted with my 1 month old sleeping in my lap

This next chair was more recently painted in 2010.... and 2011. This started out as a "Welcome to the world, Ben!" chair and quickly became a "So, how was that last year?" chair.

Africa 

The motif was also inspired by his bedroom decor. Think of the chair as a globe with each of the seven continents sprawling in their relative positions up the legs, seat and back of the chair. Each continent is represented by at least one animal and vaguely resembles the individual landscapes.

Antarctica/Australia/Asia

Central/ South America 

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The original sketches for this were far more detailed than the finished product, but since it had taken me over a year to complete, I was satisfied with the more simplified version. The most impressive thing about this chair is the fact that I took the time to take pictures of it.
So when will the next project endeavor strike? Who knows!? I have a whole vat of ideas just waiting for the appropriate level of motivation to make my hands do what my brain commands.