My painting "Betty" holds a special place in my collection as one of my very first paintings I deemed  "worth keeping"! Painted in acrylic, my goal was to create something both cute and cuddly, yet also wonderfully colourful and vibrant. This piece, part of my "nostalgia collection," is a playful reminder of the innocent joys of childhood.

I set up a still life with the plush toy “Betty” and painted the scene directly from life. To accurately capture the stuffy's proportions and placement on the canvas, I first used "artist's envelope" lines. This method involves drawing a series of overlapping, angled lines that define the main boundaries and internal relationships of the subject. Unlike a grid, the envelope encourages you to see the overall shape and how different parts relate to each other, making the transfer feel more fluid and intuitive. Once these guiding lines were in place with a charcoal sketch, I blocked in the colours.

The colours of the stuffy reflect the true hues of the toy, using light blues and darker mauves to capture its cuddly texture. However, to inject a sense of playfulness and excitement into the composition, I chose the background colours from my imagination, opting for bright reds and yellows. This bold contrast was a deliberate choice to amplify the painting's vibrancy and create a dynamic backdrop that brings the still life to life.

Painted alla prima, with wet paint applied into wet paint, "Betty" aims to capture the spontaneity and freshness of that creative moment. I hope this painting is a delightful and colourful reminder of joyful childhood moments from your own past.