“Mother's Day Flowers” - Mom/Daughter Collaboration in Oil and Acrylic

“Mother's Day Flowers” (oil and acrylic on canvas, 60 × 80 cm)

A few months ago, I asked my daughter if she'd like to make a painting together - a flower bouquet. She liked the idea and suggested painting the colorful Kalanchoe flowers we'd given her grandma, my mom, for Mother's Day.

I was curious how the process would go. I'd been mulling over the idea of artistic collaboration and loved the thought of blending two styles, especially an adult and a child, but only if the experience was positive. Although collaboration can be beautiful, it can also lead to conflict, making the project more exhausting than inspiring.

Above all, I wanted the process to be fun for both of us, so I borrowed the flowers and set up everything on a free day with no obligations. With plenty of paint and a large, nice-quality canvas, we were ready to go!

The Process

To simplify the process, we approached the painting in two steps. First, she would do the underpainting in acrylic paint. I'd give feedback if necessary, but mostly I'd just sit by with tea and provide moral support. Then later, I'd paint over her work in oil paint with feedback from her.

Both steps were equally important. Although my work would be on top, her underpainting would be the foundation for everything. Whatever blueprint she created, I would follow.

As she painted, she sometimes asked for help with tricky parts like the leaves. In a different situation, I might've given technical advice, but I wanted to foster collaboration in this process, not a teacher-student dynamic. I also didn't want my vision to influence her too much, or else the painting would be more mine and not ours.

Instead, when she was stuck, I asked process-oriented questions such as, “What colors do you see?” Or if she felt discouraged, I asked questions that focused on enjoyment, not perfection. For example, "How do you like moving the brush?” When she made wild brush strokes, I said, “Great! It doesn't have to look exactly like the leaves. You can do whatever you want, whatever feels fun!”

That approach kept the session light and pressure-free, while also ensuring my perspective didn't overrun hers.

Afterwards, when I started painting in oil, I took the opposite approach and asked for as much feedback as she wanted to give. Otherwise, if I painted over her work without getting her opinion, it would feel like I was erasing her perspective.

For instance, when I began working on the curtains, I initially made them lighter and bluer than what she'd painted. She told me to adjust them back, so I made them darker and greener. She was great collaborator because she had distinct opinions but also gave positive feedback, so I always looked forward to hearing her thoughts.

I liked all the white space she'd left around the flowers, but she wanted me to fill that space with color, so I spent a while experimenting with different approaches, trying to keep her style but with more texture and fullness.

In the end, I used circular brush strokes with clumps of paint in various shades, working intuitively and ignoring the reference picture in favor of the colors she'd chosen. I focused on capturing the velvety texture of the heart, too, which she loved.

She was keen to see how I'd do the leaves, since that part had frustrated her the most. She wanted beautiful leaves with more realism and elegance, but I didn't want to lose everything from the original or create leaves that didn't match the rest of the painting.

As with the flowers, I worked intuitively and stayed within the boundaries of the leaves she'd painted. Although the final leaves are far more detailed than the ones she'd painted and more realistic than everything else, they were exactly what she'd wanted. She said the painting was perfect - a successful collaboration for sure.