driftwood city tutorial

I am here at home on the Oregon Coast and it's business as usual for me! One of the inspiring parts of being an artist is creating outside of my studio and outside of my normal routine. I love being on the road and challenging myself to find new ways to create and while I am here I have all kinds of inspiration to share!

This driftwood city project has been in my brain for the last 6 months (it is actually what inspired my recycled cardboard city!)- the only problem is there is not much driftwood at my home in Southern California so I knew as soon as I was back at home in Oregon I would be creating a little city out of driftwood!

If you have been to the Oregon Coast you will know that there is a CRAZY amount of driftwood- like piles and piles and piles of old wood weathered by the sand and the sea. I spent my childhood crawling around these piles looking for little treasures and to this day it is still one of my favorite ways to spend time!

I collected a bag full of interesting shaped driftwood.

I began to put pieces together, stack and plan out little houses and buildings.

I glued all of the pieces together (with craft glue) to form little buildings that could stand on their own.

Then I began to paint my city in my makeshift studio- the backyard!

This little guy snuck up and startled me while I was painting but hung out and watched me for a while! (yep, this is Oregon!)

I added simple details with permanent pen.

I gathered up my city and my production assistant (my mom) and went to the beach to photograph.

The best part of this project (as is with all of my city projects) is taking the pictures in a unique environment! My mom and I had a blast setting up the city in the along the waters edge.