Queen Anne's Lace

Apparently I have become obsessed with painting meadows. Especially those with flowers in them.I love the transitions of green from yellow green to blue green, even adding gray to some of the greens to make the colors more neutral. The bright flowers add a pop to the scene.

Stand for Something

I love buckets of flowers. Buckets are so plain and utilitarian. Farming and milking cows comes to mind. I am glad they have a use as a container of beauty.

Peonies Please

This is a small 6x6 oil painting that was done some months ago and I misplaced it! I finally found it and am glad to post it. I am not the most organized of artists but usually can find everything when I need it but I realize I do need an organizer . Probably won't happen , although I do have a few friends who are qualified!

Cottage Garden

This painting is the third in the garden series(30x40). This was a delight in painting negative spaces; one of my favorite things to do. I started with the flowers and ended with the green leaves and stems.I love the change from blue green to yellow green in the foliage.

Wildflowers

This painting is another that is currently in the show at Botanic Gardens for the month of August.I have arenewed interest in painting this type of garden paintings. It is a chance to paint very intuitively;a pure pleasure.

Treat Me Well

Lighting makes a big difference in a painting. One of my favorite lighting sources is back lighting. It seems to create a glow in the paintiing when the shadow is in the front of the objects and the light peeks out from behind. It makes for built in drama.

FRESH START

I recently painted some larger (30x40) wildflower paintings for a show. I enjoyed doing those but my greatest pleasure is focusing in on a close up view. I like the negative spaces and the way the shapes relate to each other in a small format. Love my job!

Ms.Larsen at the Botanic Garden

Ms. Ellen Larsen is a friend of ours that we met through delivering Meals on Wheels.She is a delightful , sharp and witty lady. She doesn't drive anymore because of an eye problem. She was unable to come to my art opening reception so we took her to see it on Wednesday. We had a good time and a lovely lunch at the restaurant at the Botanic Garden.

Matchless

I tend to paint a lot of white flowers. I think that is because of the contrast the color brings into the painting. It can't help but be dramatic. Garden scenes are my favorite; the compositionworks out always because of the shapes and colors seem to always have a harmonious relationship.

Red Poppies

The theme of my art show at the Botanic Garden was Garden- Indoor/ Outdoor. I painted several garden style paintings. This one is 30 x 40 inches and is an impression of a wildflower garden. It was fun to paint; I just intuitively arranged the flowers on the canvas, connecting them with a muted green background.

Cool Summer

There are warm whites and there are cool whites.These are definitely cool; with a touch of blue in the white. The purples are a little warm for balance, although being cool is in style!

Intercontinental Love

Sometimes there are things that you can only see in one part of the world . Fortunately tulips are found in many countries. Carolus Clusius is one of those responsible  for the spread of tulip bulbs.He planted tulips at the Vienna Imperial Botanical Gardens

in 1573, He did a lot of research and major work on tulips and made note of the variations in color. Tulips originated in Turkey then imported into Holland.Clusius' book helped make them popular.
However they started I am glad they made it here!

What's Going On?

A useful tool I have found for painting is an app that turns photos into a value study. The colors are depicted as varying shades of gray with black and white. It helps you decidevif there is enough contrast in your photo or sketch BEFORE you paint or to check your painting AFTER finishing  to see if there is enough contrast.

Crunch Time

i am getting ready for my solo show at Memphis Botanic Garden.I will hang the show on Tuesday of next week. Final preparations include adding wire to the back of the paintings and often applying a coat of Gamvar; a type of varnish. It is too late to have an inspired idea for one more painting because it wouldn't be dry in time. It will be good; just glad when it is on the walls.

HAPPY PLACE

There are a million ways to approach painting hydrangeas.I have seen some beautful super realism renderings with every petal and water droplet shown. I admire that kind of art but tend toward the impressionist tradition.There is no right or wrong way to make art. It has to come from the heart.

Botanic Garden Art Show

I am fortunate to have been asked to exhibit my paintings at the Memphis Botanic Garden for the month of August. The reception is Sunday afternoon August 6 at 3:00-5:00 p.m. Needless to say I have been busy!

Dearly Delighted

this simple arrangement seems to whisper despite some pretty bold colors. The neutrals help pull it off. I think of neutral colors as the stage hands, set builders, lighting guys, etc. of the production we know as a painting. The diva stars are those bright colors who are  stars who need the neutrals to succeed.

Perspective

The title of my art show in August is - Garden- Indoor/Outdoor. Some of my paintings are interiors with flowers and some are outdoor flowers. This one  is a landscape but with wildflowers in the foreground. Imseem to sneak in some flowers as often as I can!

I Loved Them All

I never met a hydrangea I didn't like. Each bloom is so full and sturdy in the most gorgeous array of colors.Often there is a range of colors from blue to purple on the same bush. They were favorites of my parents too. They had some beautiful bushes; I wish I had saved a cutting of them since my parents are no longer with us. But I think of them everytime I see these beautiful flowers.

CAPITAL GAINS

My favorite set ups to paint are flowers in strong light. This usually involves a window nearby. I also sometimes use a spotlight but I like the diffused look of natural light. You will notice that the part of the basket that is away from the window seems to fade into the background, causing the basket to have more three dimensional form. Another plus is how beautiful the flowers are.Even though this is not related to finance, the beauty that I see is a form of capital gain for the soul. Without additional taxes!

Keynote Speech

This painting of geraniums will be in my solo show at the Memphis Botanic Gardens. It is larger (20x20 stretched canvas)than most that I sell on Daily paintworks.com.I don't  post too many large paintings on that ssite be ause of the cost of shipping, although I have sold quite a few that were shipped to other parts of the country. I go overboard packing those large ones because I want to make sure no damage occurs. I am always relieved when they arrive unharmed. I have never had one arrive in anything but good shape.

French Classic

I have painted countless hydrangeas of all kinds.When  I finished this one I was reminded of France. Flowers were everywhere when I was there. Something about this painting looked French. Anything French seems to have an air of elegance, no matter how mundane. A person from France could read the local phonebook out loud and sound like a Shakesperian actor ( with a French accent). I,try to imagine what a French Dollar Store would look like; everything classy for a small price. . We could learn a few things from the French.

Late Show

This painting of a garden is a little abstract. One advantage of being very near sighted is that I can look at something without my contact lenses on and it gives a perfect abstract view!It causes me to concentrate on the basic shapes and colors. Of course you don't want me to drive you anywhere in a car without vision correction!

Stand by Your Man

The title for this one just popped into my head for some reason. When I was in. college we often went to a local bar named The Pad. There was a juke box there that contained popular songs of the day . Towards the end of the evening someone always played Stand  by your Man by Tammy Wynette which prompted a hearty sing along among the patrons. Hopefully there was more to my education than that song but we had fun!

Yellow Story

I am not sure how many jars I have painted in the past few years but it is a lot. The jars all alone are not as interesting as they are when filled with beautiful flowers. The combinations and possibilities are endless- I have a few more left in me!

Call Me

i have been painting some larger canvases lately for a show but like to take a break and work on some small paintings . It is very satisfying to create these small vignettes. Because they are smaller (8x8) there is no pressure to put on myself to create a masterpiece. Another beauty of oil painting is that if I don't like how a painting is going it can be wiped off and started over. If only life could happen that way!

Back of the Garden

I am getting paintings ready for a solo show at the Memphis Botanic Gardens in August. Most of the paintings I show on Daily paintworks are 11x 14 or smaller. For this show I needed some larger ones so I have been busy.It takes a little adjustment to move to painting larger but not difficult to do. The same principles of design apply to both. The main difference is just larger brushes!

Fine by Me

No matter what I paint I always come back to flowers. I remember when I was in the eighth grade and painting flowers on wooden and metal boxes, actually anywhere I could find. You will have to remember that was in the late '60's- flower power and all that love. I am not good at growing things, not good at botany terms but painting flowers is my thing! I feel totally at peace and comfortable when standing in front of an easel with some flowers to paint. Lucky girl!

Transformation

i used to be afraid of painting glass; it just seemed to be too complicated. I finally got brave and discovered I really loved it. This particular jar was calling my name! The complex changes between the blue and the aqua as the light came through was exciting. I know , I am easily entertained.

Minute by Minute

We  stay at the same beach house every year. The furnishings change from time to time but most have been the same over the last 12  years. On our day of departure we always leave very early to avoid the trafgic. As I was checking for any items that were left behind I noticed this basket with very nice silk peonies. I guess I had seen them before but not realized how interesting the basket was. So I took time to take some photographs of it before we got in the car to head for home. I painted this view of it as soon as I could after I got home. Moral the story; always be on the lookout for beauty right under your nose!