Bzzzz

I took a beekeeping class a few years ago and came away just astonished by the amazing societal world of bees.  Since then I can't help but watch them closely and study which garden flowers attract the most activity.  This past growing season, ornamental allium and coneflowers seemed to be their favorite pollen sources.    With the winter temperatures plummeting, I decided a floral painting would just the topic that would give me a break from the winter, black, brown, gray and white palette outside.  My color temperatures mimic a midday cool skyblue light and warm shadow undertones.

Bzzzz

Wild Primrose

Is this the yellow rose of Texas?   That was the question in my head as I set up to paint.   It was the sole blossom I saw at a marshy beach-bordering area on the easternmost point of Galveston Island.   I do know it was a primrose, because there was a nature trail display describing the natural elements here.   I loved that there was also winter clover everywhere I looked, lush and green.   New friends, Galveston neighbors, said that once the heat of spring, summer and fall arrives, things dry out and no there is no sign of such moist greenery.

Wild Primrose

Floral at the Fair

Oil Paint

 

 

 

These paintings were done at the 2021 Marshfield Fair.   At noon, twelve floral designers set out to create a ribbon winning design.  At 2PM twelve painters were assigned an arrangement to capture in paint.

 

 

It was a fun experience and so interesting to see how different painters approached their floral creation.   The floral designers seemed to basically have the same flowers, so to me, the color schemes of each were so very similar.   But as you see,the painters' works were vastly different!

Acrylic

Watercolor

Summer Lilies Fading Glory

Water Lilies Fading Glory

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do the topics of waterlilies and oil paintings bring impressionist painter Monet to mind for you?    I personally love those paintings and as many times as I've seen one of the many renditions of waterlilies by Monet I marvel.  Up close they seem like chaotic dots of color, but step back and the real thing emerges.  Did you know there are at least 250 known waterlily paintings by Monet?    Amazing!  

There is great freedom and fun in painting water and water lilies.   Monet's paintings have exactly what mine lack- a casual looseness and variety.  I wouldn't be able to paint the same subject dozens, never mind hundreds of times.   I wonder if Monet's free flowing brushwork comes from  his being so familiar with the subject that his psyche practically paints it without conscious thought?

These are not south-of-France waterlilies, but rather New England pond lilies done in a "zoomed in" stilllife style.  As the end of summer approaches, the pads start to change color with more read and gold, similar to our foliage.

Soft Iris on Shiny Aluminum

White Iris

Iris's are so short lived in summer.   I took several photos of the few white irises that appeared in my garden recently.   It struck me that a hard, shiny aluminum surface could be an interesting contrast for a painting of the delicate translucent petals.  Also, depending on what the background is reflecting - dark or light - the painting has a whole different look.

Haberdashery

Haberdashery

There were three big, exciting purchases that I made when I graduated from college.   A car was first; a Dodge Omni, (brand new and shiny forest green)  and, hard to believe - a mere $4800.   The second seems a little strange now that I think about it, but it was an Electrolux top-of-the-line vacuum.   I think I actually paid for that via installments.  I hardly remember, as it certainly wasn't as exciting as the automobile!   The third big purchase was a Singer sewing machine.   It was state-of-the art at the time and I remember the sales person convincing me that the embroidery wheels were so easy to use that I was going to want to use them often.    For the record, I have never used them.  :)

The car and the vacuum cleaner are long gone, but my sewing machine is as functional now as it ever was.  This truly was an investment - and still going strong.    It has been set up in my studio now for a couple of months as I worked on face masks for my loved ones.  I clustered together some of the sewing notions (a.k.a. haberdashery) attempting to arrange a pleasing composition.   My composition expert helped with it, and soon it was time to break out my paints.

Pine Cone Branch

Scrub Pinecone

I love to look at all kinds of artwork and I receive some daily collections in my email.   A recent painting of a single apple grabbed my attention and reminded me that sometimes an ordinary object in thick oil paint can be so beautiful.   With a painterly touch, it can even rival a more complex or busy scene.  

During spring clean up, pine branches are everywhere - a very ordinary sight in New England.  Depicted in an oil painting, it seems much more than bland and ordinary.    This is especially true if the bright spots have pink and blue and mint and lavender!

Christmas Tea Pot

Christmas Teapot

With Christmas decorations all around, setting up a still life was relatively easy.    My Christmas teapot, given to me a long time ago by my mother usually gets a lot of use during this season, but this year it remains on display for painting reference purposes.  It sits next to my shell angel, gumdrop sticks and ornaments.

I hope you are enjoying all of your traditional decor in your homes, and the fond memories that they bring!

Pink Freesia with White Roses

Although tiny, this little crystal vase is my new favorite.   It is perfectly shaped and looks lovely with miniature blooms from the garden.   I placed it on a small pedestal in a sunny, studio window and prepared to paint.    Shadows from the window grids were cast onto the set up and I was trying to decide if they added or subtracted from the composition.

Pink Freesia with White Roses

"Is there a term for the window grid things?" I asked my husband.   Without hesitation, he blurted "mullion bars."  He said it with an intonation that implied this was common knowledge.    He spotted my doubt immediately and he proceeded to look up the phrase.  Now to me, "mullion bars" is some vague, unknown term.  But expert carpenter/renovator that he is, he further added more terms that also mean window grids, "muntin bar, stiles, grids."     Haha, whatever they are called, they were casting shadows on my still life and the question remained was this good or bad?

I began painting.  The backlit still life had two white rose buds and a small freesia stem.   There was an interesting vase shadow, and within that, a bright refraction from the crystal.    The verdict of those other shadows came easily once I saw how much was going on in this small painting - no extra shadows from the mullion, muntin,stiles, grids or whatever you call them! :)

Garden Bunny

Garden Bunny

I found this garden ornament when I was cutting back the grossly overgrown landscaping at our new house.   Apparently it doesn't take very long for things in the garden to become buried and forgotten, but this guy now has a new life.   I sat him next to a pot of flowers near a nice stone wall in the back.   Not only does it now see the light of day, but it gets to have his portrait done. :)

Two Little Florals

Pink Peony

The two small paintings described here are only 4 inches square, but with this much bright pink, they hold their own. 


The peony season in this area is no more than three weeks long, so as soon as I see signs they ready to burst, I start thinking peony painting.    The approach was to lay in the warm and dark inner portion of the bloom in a single mass, then with a wide brush, apply petal by petal in single strokes.  Two chubby buds sit behind the big blossom.   The background is light and fuzzy, making the flowers look dark and vivid.

Pink Blossoms in Mason Jars

The second painting is a colorful floral of two clear mason jars with pink blooms.   The bright pink and its complement, bright turquoise, vibrate against each other in this loose and juicy square.  I love this one, mostly because it is not tight or precise, my usual tendency - see peony painting...haha.

Roses and Baby's Breath

Pink Roses and Baby's Breath

Could the generous person who visited and brought these fresh pink tea roses have known that I love pink roses?  My bathroom even has a pink roses theme.  What a nice gesture and the perfect subject for a new still life.

These roses were whitish at the base and edged with pretty salmony-pink.   Looking straight down into the throat of the blossom, no white was visible at all, just dark reddish pink.   The baby's breath accented the blooms and the whole bouquet sat in a cute little mason jar.

I could paint a hundred roses and I don't think I would be happy with them on the first go.   I usually have to go back at it and adjust, putting any spontaneity and freshness at risk.   With this small painting, the blooms may be too precise, but the leaves, stems and background are more loose.  Thank you for the pink roses!  Wait, do they look too
red?

Purple Mums in Metal Box

Purple Mums in Metal Box

This sweet gift given to me by one of my recent painting visitors made me smile.  I wanted to grab brushes and paint immediately.   As soon as I could, I did.  The next day I painted this 6x6 square.    There were other gifts, just as appreciated, but edible - and they didn't last long enough to make in into a still life painting.   Haha.

This purple mum plant sat in a gray, metal trimmed box, accented with Spanish moss.  Similar to painting rope in paint-night class, I under-painted the area dark, then came back with light colored paint for the stringy twirls of moss.   The moss's gray color matched the silver accented box and the cool purple. 

I never tire of painting flowers especially when they are a gift.  The blossoms fade, but paintings make  permanent remembrances of the kind gesture, so thank you again!

Lilacs

Lilacs

I was pulling out my Easter/Spring decor when I found a lilac-scented candle.  After lighting it, the house was filled with its scent which was remarkably strong and authentic. It then struck me that we now have some lilac bushes at this new house/studio.     I am longing to see my very own lilacs for the first time this May - for enjoyment and of course, painting.

In preparation for the real thing, I practiced from a photo in painting this 6x6 inch mini.  I used a color mixing scheme that I learned about online in which a premixed pile of cool, light gray is used to blend with each color applied in the painting.   All colors had a bit of the gray, except for the brightest light, which I wanted to be bright and clean and warm.   I'm thinking the use of this gray harmonized the blues and purples to a softer, less intense palette.  What do you think?   Too muted?

Hearts

All Heart

It was St. Valentine's Day, a day for wearing pink and red, and/or novelty accessories to mark the occasion.   After all, they wait in the dresser drawer all year for their turn.  Maybe some years, they don't get selected, but this year, these happy socks got the nod and their annual showing.  

Although this painting is realistically rendered, the abstract placement of the subject and neon blue shadows on the square surface is what I liked best about it.  Plus there are lots of hearts here, and not just on the socks.

Pink and Yellow Roses

Pink and Yellow Roses Square

 I recently came across my notes from a demonstration put on by revered American master artist Richard Schmid.  It took place a few years ago, early in summer down in Falmouth, MA on Cape Cod.  Also in attendance was his young protege', Daniel Keys.   It was a thoroughly enjoyable day and I remember being mesmerized as I observed the techniques being deployed - the arrangement of the still life elements, the colors on the palette and even simple things, like how he mixed the grey for a white flower petal in shadow.

Florals are a particular specialty of his, always yielding a lovely result and I used some of his methods, including his palette style
to create this small floral.

Festive Windowboxes

Little House and Snowy Greens

Every year as Christmas approaches, I work on at least one holiday painting. This year, one became four paintings as they were fun to create

The plan was to give the gallery a related grouping during the run up to Christmas.   Window boxes decorated for the holidays became the theme.   This idea came to me as I start thinking about how to decorate my own real window boxes.  The options are endless and I hope my real window box has as much color.

Red Ribbon Window Box

And speaking of color, the palette knife was useful for laying on the thick masses of cascading greens and flowers.  It was also good for creating rustic clapboards with a bit of scraping and multi-layering.

'Tis the Season!

Window Box Splash

Ornaments and Pink Ribbon

Sunflowers and Spindles

Sunflowers and Spindles

Midday sunlight pours into my front room from a south window, now that it's late fall.  The angle of the light is much lower and the rays were casting some very interesting shadows.   These warm red and yellow sunflowers were dazzling in the bright light. The wooden spindles of my staircase sat in the background with some petal shadows wrapping around them.   Some sunflowers were just starting to open, others open with curly, transluscent shapes.  It's alwaysa good day when you are painting flowers!

Roses in the Oval Format

Pink Roses in Oval Format

I have reworked this oval a number of times.

I now have a beautiful oval frame for it in a modern antique style.   Once I get it framed up, I'll show you.   Since I love bees, I decided to add a busy one on the right.

Christmas Carol and Red Ribbon

Christmas Carol and Red Ribbon

All the Christmas decorations are up and over the years, like many people, we have added to our collection.   I selected a few favorite items and combined them on the still life shelf in my studio.   This still life features some "rustic" pieces (a basket, greens, pine cones, berries and a book.) 

In our house, "A Christmas Carol" is a favorite, both book and movie (George C. Scott version :)).  That is why this was the volume featured in this Christmas still life. 

See Starry Snowman (previous post) blog for the photo of my studio still life shelf with two still life set ups, one of which is this featured piece.

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