Santa Barbara I Madonnari Festival, May 2012
For our thirteenth year at I Madonnari and our fourth year painting a 12x12 square (thanks to sponsor Howard Gross, MD!), we decided to go with our strengths and create a 3D painting featuring Wayne's cousins, Megan and Jack. They live in the Santa Barbara area and have helped us paint there for several years now. The painting's theme was inspired by Calvin and Hobbes and by our rocket scientist relatives--Cheryl's dad and Wayne's brother. The satellite in the upper corner is either Pioneer 10 or 11. The kids are riding in their Backyard Orbital eXplorer (we figured the vehicle needed an appropriate NASA-esque name, complete with acronym). The city lights in the lower left corner that have caught Megan's eye were originally from Cairo and the Nile Delta, though of course one never knows if this planet is Earth.
We put down the pattern on Friday afternoon.
Saturday morning, Cheryl started with Megan's head and her beautiful hair.
By lunchtime, Cheryl had Megan's face and hands done, and Wayne had finished most of the box (all but the part Cheryl was sitting on) and Jack's shirt.
We got some helpers on Saturday afternoon--our models, Jack and Megan!
They started out working on the spacecraft.
Then they worked on space and the atmosphere.
Cheryl worked all afternoon on Jack's spiky hair, his face and his arms.
Jack continued working in space and Megan moved over to painting her scarf.
She was a very careful artist.
By the end of the day (and some good work by Wayne's rocket scientist brother David), Pioneer was starting to look properly space-ready.
End of the day on Saturday (as the long shadows suggest). We've made good progress and are sure we can finish in good time on Sunday.
On Sunday, Megan and Jack returned for more. This time they saw (and painted) stars.
Below the starry sky, Cheryl added terrestial stars from the city lights.
Close-up view of the city lights (and matching signatures of all artists).
Look over there!
Jack points out a spot we missed.
Megan checks out Cairo in amazement.
Jack is amazed by the Mideast (or maybe something else).
Close-up view of the Pioneer spacecraft.
This view gives additional meaning to the term "sidelong"...
Finished!
< Previous Festival | Street Painting Index | Next Festival >
Return to our homepage.