Little Red Hen

Little Red Hen – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

Little Red Hen is my new painting. Years ago, when I made papier mache bowls, one of my most popular motifs was my chicken bowl. Since then, however, I had not felt like doing a chicken painting until now. A few of my Facebook friends have chickens in their yards, and I’ve enjoyed seeing their fun and sometimes humorous photos of their hens and chicks. So, with my new idea of painting images of folk tales, The Little Red Hen came to mind.

I remember the story from childhood and when my daughter was a preschooler, we had puppets illustrating the story. I loved the story of the little hen working diligently over time even though none of her friends are willing to help her and finally she has the yummy baked bread. I made the painting childlike using lots of bright colors, it was somewhat challenging I wanted it to be more abstract then it turned out.

I feel that this year I’ve been a bit like the little red hen, working diligently doing a painting each week and then writing about it here on the blog. I’m also stepping up on the marketing with sharing it on my Twitter feed and my Facebook pages and finally sharing on a new Instagram account. This work is paying off, I’ve been able to push myself in new ways with my painting and am hoping that will eventually bring some extra income in.

Four Dragonflies

Four Dragonflies – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

After learning last week that because dragonflies zig and zag about, they symbolize flexibility and the need for a fresh perspective I was inspired to do a painting with a dragonfly focus. I then decided to check out the meaning of the number 4 since I had painted 4 dragonflies circling the sun in the earlier painting. The number four is symbolic of stability, order and structure. The year 2020 adds up to four and it’s interesting that our structures and foundations are somewhat shaky now and need transformation with all that’s going on.

Four Dragonflies is the result. I chose to have the dragonflies rising up in a spiral and decided each one would represent one of the four elements: earth, water, air and fire which helped me with the the composition and transitions. I’m not quite sure how successful it is but it was fun to paint, I loved playing with the swirls of color, trying to make it work. Well hang in there everyone, we will get through this.

Mermaid Basking in the Sun

Mermaid Basking in the Sun – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

Mermaid Basking in the Sun is a new painting for my Heni’s Happy Paintings Etsy Shop.  This a my second attempt at painting a mermaid, the first was set in a moonlit scene.  This time I felt like painting a mermaid enjoying the warmth of the sun. 

When I was younger I loved the idea and stories of mermaids, perhaps because my twin sister and I swam all summer long and  felt at home under water. Once I started snorkeling and saw the beauty of the tropical fish and coral, I could easily imagine mermaids swimming about.

With the earth  having three quarters of it’s surface covered in water, it makes sense that cultures around the world have myths of mermaids. In general, mermaids are  portrayed as beautiful, mysterious and powerful creatures.  I’m pleased with my painting, she turned out nicely.

Spring is in full force here in Atlanta, it’s beautiful.  Wishing everyone a happy Easter weekend!