Only True In Fairy Tales

                                                             Only True In Fairy Tales

 I was in junior high I think when the singing group the Monkees came out with Daydream Believer. They were a kind of manufactured band for television but it turned out they were quite good and charismatic. The television show was a hit as well as the music. Of course nothing like the Beatles or Rolling Stones but they had their share of young fans. When I painted this painting I immediately tnought of the lyric “I thought love was only true in fairy tales” from Daydream Believer. The scene has the feeling of a fairy landscape.

GOOD GRACES

  One of the most important things about a painting is color. Of course composition and shape is important but the first thing we see is how pleasing the color is. It is especially so in an abstract where there is no specific subject matter. This painting is a recognizable vase of flowers but the relationships of the colors is most important.

LAYAWAY

                                                                         LAYAWAY

  I saw this word in a magazine article about the past and was reminded about the practice of buying things and putting them on layaway; paying for them in installments over time. The practice has stopped because of the use of credit cards. I look at this bouquet of flowers and think of growing them as a kind of layaway. The seeds are bought, planted and we have to wait for them to germinate and sprout. They need water and sun and they finally get big enough to bloom. It makes it all worth it to have this beauty to see in a vase!

BACKYARD

 This view of a backyard garden is a little moody. It could be either early morning or dusk. I love the little bits of color suggesting flowers and foliage. They are all really abstract but come together to make a convincing realistic garden that draws the viewer in.

I Saw The Sign

 I Saw The Sign

 I had driven down this road many times in the last several years in all seasons but a bright sunny day in the fall struck me as very beautiful. I stopped and took a few photos to paint later. I loved the perspective and that SOp sign as the focal point was perfect. I should do a spring, summer and winter !

Coming Up Next

 Coming Up Next 9x12 oil on panel . I love to paint flowers because they are such interesting shapes and colors. Although they are cut they seem still alive.The simple transparent vase is a good complement to the complicated arrangement of stems and blooms. The composition keeps the eye moving around the picture plane.

On The Vineyard

 Years ago we took a day trip to Martha’s Vineyard during our stay on CapeCod. It was so beautiful. My favorite part  was the view of the beautiful weathered cottages and hydrangeas. I took many photographs and this painting is from one of those. Breathtaking blues.

 FINDING HOME 12x12  Oil on canvas. This is a kind of dream landscape based more in imagination than reality. The elements were drawn from several different landscape sketches to come up with a painting that suggested a feeling of home. Each viewer will have their own idea and feelings when looking  at it.It was a lot of fun to paint!

Delicate Blooms

                                                                DELICATE BLOOMS

 This oil painting takes on the resemblance of a watercolor painting. The technique was to use a thinner ,

more transparent approach to applying the paint. Although more delicate ; there is still  a strong source 

of light in the composition of the painting. The lighter side of the flowers and the vase suggest the light is 

coming from the right; this gives more depth to the image.

Old Times Sake

                                                                     Old Times Sake

     Of course I would  pick a garden scene to paint. I love the unusual color palette and the natural planting. The house in the background is a muted color to make it recede to show depth. It gives  a contrast of warmth and coolness although.

NEW MARKET

                                                                     NEW MARKET

  I love flower markets. They were prolific in European cities that I visited and also in major U.S cities like  New York and San Francisco. I was always drawn to the bright colors  mixed all together in similar silver and terra cotta containers. They offer a welcoming spot in winter especially and a way to bring home a lovely piece of nature.

GROUP CHAT

                                                                  GROUP  CHAT

                I really love to paint garden or meadow scenes where the flowers are randomly planted and

        different from each other. Since they are similar size; the focal point has to be achieved by stronger 

        color or grouping of flowers. The arrangement hast keepthe eyes moving around the picture plane

        never going out of the four sides. Another method of interest used isvto create ares of darker green 

                                                     

MYSTERY FOREST

  This is a large (30x40) commission that I recently did for some friends moving into a new home. I more often do floral compositions but I enjoy landscapes too. Doing this type painting allows for a deeper composition. The flowers at the front are a kind of gateway into the picture and takes the viewer deep into the picture. The muted colors promote the calm mysterious feeling.

Fast Forward

 FAST FORWARD

      I enjoy painting bouquets of flowers; either very close up or on a table with other objects. This one is a focus mainly on the actual blooms. When I started this I was looking at a vase of flowers but I took some artistic liberties arranging the flowers in my head. If you notice, I used repetition , an important principle of design by repeating colors and shapes in the bouquet to make the viewer’s eye move around the plane of the painting. Another way I used design is in the background. I used pattern to make the plain blue more interesting. I actually did it with 2 blue shades that had a stronger contrast to each other. It was pretty but it called attention away from the flowers so I toned down one of the blues so they are almost the same value. A little artists “ trick”.

Fairyland

  Swasn’t sure whereI was going with  this painting but the delicate flowers took me in this direction. 

I remember reading the story about Thumbelina; the story about the tiny girl who ended up falling in 

love with a flower fairy prince her size. This flower forest is just the place she would have loved!

Available on Dailypaintworks.com Libby Anderson

Doc Amos Store

 This is an oil painting of Doc Amos Store; a store that my watercolor class in college often went to paint

back in the 1970s. It was a 2 story wooden building that sold groceries and was a local gathering place for for men in the neighborhood. I have several photographs that I took at the time. I am glad because the structure is no longer standing.i like the contrast of the figures against the building.

NAME oF LOVE

 I am back to painting a meadow scene. I love the freedom of showing flowers in their natural setting.

These spring flowers are so exuberant that they seem to burst right off the page in all their glory. While they have some similarity in a repetitive pattern; each flower has a distinctive personality.as if to say”Look at me!”Available on Daily Paintworks.com- Libby Anderson

 

See You Again

 

This is a 9x12 oil on panel. The subject matter is a favorite of mine; hydrangea blooms. The painting is based on a limited palette so I had to rely on values more than color to make it work. The glass vase relies on lights and darks to show the transparency of light. I don’t think I will ever tire of painting these flowers!

Wait For The Moon

 I love bright colors; but also enjoy the challenge of a limited palette. This painting consisted mainly of blue, green and white. Because it was fairly neutral, I had to develop interest in other ways. The flowers were all white but there were many shades of white to create interest.The green shapes have a lot of variety. Even though the painting is very abstract , the viewer can still tell what it represents.

Pardon My French

Pardon My French

   I love to paint bottles and jars as vases for flowers. They makes the arrangements much more      interesting. The variety of blooms keep the viewer’s attention within the picture plane. Color harmony has been addressed to make a pleasing painting.
 

Parallel Parking

 

CELBRATION STORY

 This painting is a little different from most of my others. It has a little more of a graphic feel to it. One of the artists of the past that I admire the most is Henri Matisse. The thing I love most about his work is his use of pattern. I enjoyed adding pattern to the vases in this painting to add interest.

PERFECT TIME

 I haven’t posted in quite a while.Painting and solo and group shows have taken up a lot of my time. Plus Life in general. I do enjoy taking a little time to talk about a single painting though. Along with flowers I do love chairs. The combination is perfect. Wouldn’t you love to come home to a basket of beautiful flowers waiting for you in your favorite chair? A perfect time

Where Will You Go?

 I do florals more than landscapes; but my landscapes often have some florals in them! This landscape has  some mystery because of the path that disappears into the darkness. No one knows exactly where it goes- it  is up to the viewer’s imagination.The path leads the viewer into the picture plane and all around it. The colors chose add to the calm feeling of the painting.

Carlotta

 Sometimes the title for a painting comes to me after a painting is finished. As soon as I fnished this; the name Carlotta popped in my head. She is a character in a book series by Linda Barnes about a private investigator who solves various crimes. She is a colorful redhead who invokes the kind of colors present in this painting. The neutrals are only present in the greens and background, allowing the flowers to pop!

Kindness

 I chose bright , light colors for this painting with very few darks. I was trying for an upbeat , happy feeling for the painting. Everytime I use aqua in a painting that seems to be the outcome; I don’t know why. I guess because it is a kind of blue but with a little kick to it by adding the green. Kind of like a fun day at the beach. I would like to audit a good color theory class some day. Not for a grade; just to absorb some of the knowledge. There are so many things to learn; so little time!

SPRING UPDATE

 
 I haven’t posted in a while. I misunderstood that the blog was going to be discontinued. It was just the mailing list. In the meantime I have still been painting every day. Last week my Instagram account ( @libbybob) was hacked by a bitcoin hacker making it seem that I was asking people to invest in bitcoin. I am trying to resolve this but in the meantime I have opened a new account named @was_libbybob

So please follow me on that account; no bitcoin allowed!

WILD MEADOW

 This is a closeup of a flower meadow.The dark background adds depth; making the viewer wonder what else is behind the flowers in the front. The colors pop because of the neutral greens with the surprising yellows.

Parallel Parking

 I did not have to parallel park for my driving test and I avoid it when possible. I drive around the block for 20 minutes or park 3 blocks away also to avoid it. These bottle vases remind me of that parking situation!

Lost in the Garden

 I do floral compositions more than landscapes but do enjoy landscapes as a change of pace. This landscape combines my love of flowers with the outdoors. The flowers draw the viewer in toward the buildings as the blooms get smaller as they recede.