Proud Grandma (and Grandad) Alert!

It was our wedding anniversary last weekend and for a surprise present, our grandsons, aged 9 and 6, gave us a picture which they themselves had painted. Knowing how much I admire the work of artist Julie Dumbarton, they had decided to try and emulate her style. Their subject was to be a view from our window. They did lots of research first, looking at photos of Julie's paintings and noting for instance her bold brush strokes, use of colour and that the colours she chooses are not always the "right" ones for the subject, and the fact that her paintings show an impressionistic representation of the scene, rather than a realistic one. They even got their mum to drive them past our house (without our knowing!) so that they could check the view. Unfortunately it was a bit foggy that day and they couldn't see it properly, so instead they looked on Google images, and added some bits from memory. This is one of my photos of the scene, which I see straight ahead of me through the window when I'm sitting at my desk in my craft room. (The boys didn't use this photo to paint their picture from.)

And here's their picture.

The method they used to construct the picture is interesting. Their mum cut four sections of paper for them and they each painted two sections, which were then put together.

Here's a closer look at the detail.

Have a look at Julie's portfolio and see whether you think they managed to capture her style. I'm biased, of course, but I think they did a pretty good job! We both agreed it was our best present ever!

I'll do anything....

And so, we hope, will you! It's a nice and easy February Challenge at Stamping Sensations,  where our theme for the month is

* * * * * ANYTHING GOES * * * * *

We're delighted to welcome back the fabulous Little Claire Designs as our sponsor, and the prize which they have generously donated is a fantastic £35 gift voucher to spend on their site.

I've used stamps from Little Claire's "Hot Air Balloons" set for my card. The balloons and the ground are all separate stamps, giving scope for an endless variety of designs. 

Having first made a background with my ink dusters, I stamped all the stamps on various patterned papers (Basic Grey), cut them out and paper pieced them to create my design. This was then diecut with Spellbinders dies, mounted on to another Basic Grey paper, matted with a yellow border on to a 7" square card and embellished with a ribbon and sentiment (Craft Stamper magazine freebie). 

As always, you'll find plenty of inspiration on the Challenge Blog, and we'll look forward to seeing all your amazing creations!