Hey Good Looking

 This small 8x 10 painting is a close up perspective painting. Although it doesn’t lead the eye down a long road as in a landscape, it does take you through the picture plane. Because of the size of the pots, most viewers start looking on the left and travel to the right toward the smaller pot. The break in between allows for a rest for the eyes. All of these decisions are conscious but after years of painting just happen without much planning.

Lost Meadow

The title Lost Meadow tries to convey the feeling that no humans are around or have had occasion to have been here. The beauty of the meadow and the view of the distant mountain are just there for the sake of nature. Perhaps someone will soon come along to discover it and hopfully not spoil the beauty.

Hot Topic

I often finish a painting in one session and am satisfied with it. I thought I had with this one. I kept walking by it and a feeling like something just wasn’t right. I did this for a few months because I couldn’t quite figure out what it was that bothered me. This week I decided to be brave and put it back on the easel . I just started adding colors and changing areas realizing what the painting needed was some depth. One of the hardest things is to know when to stop!

Impact Statement

There is something to be said for drama in a painting; especially when dealing with a subject matter like flowers. Flowers are by nature not necessarily an exciting subject matter. But the way they are painted can make them seem to be. One way to do that is by use of contrast of dark and light colors. In this painting there is a natural light color in the white hydrangea. By using a dark blue in the background, the white really stands out in the painting with a lot of drama.

Winter Protocol

Painting white flowers requires a restraint and a skill to use subtle color. If you look closely you will see many color in the whites including many neutral tones. White reflects the colors around it so unless the white flowers are in a snowbank in the arctic they will be full of color. That arctic painting would be very boring!

Well Done

I love bright colors but this painting is more about complementary colors. What pleases me most about the painting is the relationship between the greens and the reds and the pinks. This  is the reason nature is so beautiful; complementary colors occur naturally outdoors. No one has to arrange the colors- - they are already there. When arranging an indoor still life some care has to be taken though. If everything in the arrangement was a bright loud color, one’s eye would have nowhere to rest. That is why I use plenty of neutral colors like gray and also complementary colors to create perfect color balance.