Wily Tulips the First Commission

The staff at Tangram reached out to Cannon to commission an artwork to present to Connie Dillman on the occasion of her retirement. 

Connie Dillman retired in 2015 after a successful 44-year career as a visionary leader in the field of developmental disabilities.

Tangram supports people with disabilities by designing services to meet their specific needs and desires. We assist them to live full, meaningful, and happy lives, at home and as members of their community. Tangram joins with community partners to create inclusive and sustainable solutions to challenges faced by those impacted by disabilities. https://www.thetangramway.org

 

 

Research - before Cannon starts working he collects ideas for his inspiration. In this case he looked at a favorite ceramic piece supplied by her staff, for color clues.  Other ideas came from favorite flowers - overblown tulips looking "mischievous or wily".

Cannon selects his palette of colors for the composition.  He references the ceramic inspiration.

The week before he started painting Cannon spread modeling paste on the canvas and pressed the Tangram logo into the paste to create a hidden image that would be under the painting.

After the modeling paste is dry he removes the shapes from the canvas.

He applies the first layer of color and texture using the larger diameter and textured paint roller.

He pauses from time to time to add different colors and white to form tints and shades.  We are curious how the hidden picture will look. After the background colors and textures are applied Cannon looks at the canvas from all sides and angles and decides which is the top of the canvas before continuing to use smaller and smaller rollers to add smaller areas of texture and color including a hint of metallic gold and bronze paint.  He indicates when the canvas should be turned so that he can more easily reach areas he wants to add color to.

Cannon uses the hair dryer to dry the under painting before adding shapes of color.

Cannon selects the colors for the shapes that will give the impression of the wily tulips.  He looks at the reference images and then points to where the colors should be placed on the canvas. He uses a one inch printing brayer to create the oval and shapes and adds more colors to the composition.

 

 

Cannon uses the large round dry brush to blend colors on the canvass. 

He adds the last details of brush strokes to imply the stems and leaves.  He uses a brush that is stiff with dried paint as a tool. 

Throughout the process Cannon stops now and then for a rest.  We sit back and look while paint dries or while we discuss what the next steps might be, pointing out interesting effects of the roller and brush work.  He returns to the canvas until he decides it is complete. He puts down his tools and looks forward to what is next.

Dan's Truck

June 6, 2015

Dan’s Truck

When I arrived this morning, Cannon was excited to show me the gift Dan had sent him. It was a model of an eighteen-wheeler like the one he drives.

I asked mom who Dan was and she replied, “Dan Kennedy is a childhood friend of Leonard’s.  Dan is an 18-wheeler truck driver. Cannon has never met him in person. Initially they communicated through Leonard (cell or text) and now they message each other through Facebook.   Dan sent him the truck because he knew that Cannon loved the big trucks.  He has sent him other gifts over the years too.  Cannon and Leonard hope to visit Dan in Texas and see a Dallas Cowboys game together.”

Cannon pointed out all of the features of the truck and it was clear that the truck would be our inspiration for this lesson.

Cannon is just the right age to fit into what Viktor Lowenfeld (Creative Growth and Development) calls the “The Gang Stage -The Dawning of Realism 8 -12 (years of age), this dawning of how things really look is usually expressed with more detail for individual parts.”

The challenge was to find ways that Cannon could express this developmental need for realism within his fine motor skill set.

We spread out our tools and supplies to find the right things to use in this project. We settled on the small brayer/ink roller the small sponge paint roller with the rounded sponge end, empty medicine bottles (for tire outlines) and small brushes.

Cannon’s color choices were – black, gray, white, blue and yellow ochre.

Again using the brayer he loaded it with the gray for the trailer, then black for the cab of the truck. I used my hand and forearm to support his arm and hand while he rolled out this major forms.  

At other times I used minimal manual guidance to add smaller details the wheels etc.

 

Cannon considers possible tools for adding license plate numbers.

I hold the canvas while Cannon uses the brayer to color the sides and edges of the canvas.

Cannon really wanted to add Dan’s name on the truck.  We decided on an alternative way of adding his name to the composition that would match Cannon’s skills.  The rounded end of the sponge roller stamped his name in cloud like circles over the truck. 

Cannon was very proud of his truck “portrait”.

Dan's Truck Acrylic 20"x16"