Ring the Bells!!!

ring the bells that still can ring

forget your perfect offering

there is a crack in everything

that's how the light gets in

-leonard cohen

Recreating a Background

I enjoyed painting these lilies- A LOT! I think if there were only one type of flower to paint, this may be my pick. Everything from the color of the stamens, the messy flower edges, leaves, and whimsical patterns capture my heart and attention.
On this piece I  headed for a close-up of three favorite buds. They were completed without too much work; however,  I ignored planning the background. I KNOW better than that! After studying the blank, white background for a couple of days I decided to go in with a light, grey-blue gouache. What was I thinking?!? So, now that I'd killed the white of the paper (one of the 10 Commandments for a watercolorist) I realized this was a gonner. I tossed this painting into my 'stand-by' pile and moved on to my next victim.
After another painting or two I glanced back at this and decided to pull it out, experiment with dropping indigo and darker colors on TOP of the gouache and see what happened. I enjoyed the effect as the opaque gouache background acted almost like YUPO paper. Suddenly I had a 2nd chance with this piece. A few hours later this was my end result.
Lesson (that I've learned again and again): Some of my best pieces are the result of me totally giving up, walking away, then coming back with fresh eyes and energy.

Picasso Meets VanGogh?

I took a day off of my painting schedule to…..paint! I belong to a fun online class of watercolorists (Create 38) and May's objective was to study the color of yellow (not one of my favorites). I started with good 'yellow' intentions but repeatedly leaned toward a more chosen color of mine - orange. LOVE ORANGE!  These sunflowers were from the Solvang farmers market and reminded me so much of a couple of impressionists I admire.

BTW, the online class is led by Vinita Pappas and is inspiring!

Glazunov's Sunset

I loved starting this painting, but finishing became a technical problem of sorts. My goal is to mesh both impressionistic and realistic painting styles. I'm not trying to photographically depict these florals, but give a mood- a feel of the flower's energy or essence. This is part of a floral series to be hung June 1st. Much of this painting is attributable to the classical music of Alexander Glazunov.

Almost ready to hang!

Two propped & finished paintings,  drying  before a final coat of varnish. Yeah! Sorry about the glare, I'm having problems photographing oils.  Both paintings 36X36; will be part of a series focusing on florals from Santa Ynez Valley.

The orchid painting was fun, learned many lessons. Can you tell which orchids I enjoyed painting the most? I got lost in YoYoMa and other classical music while painting this piece.

The Russian Sage was a new technique of distressing the canvas before starting to paint in oils. I collaged Asian or rice paper onto this canvas, then stamped and painted abstractly on this background. Finally painting the still life directly over this textured start. The finished piece has a lot of texture and mystery behind an impressionist type of painting. I'll do this again as it was a challenge but fun!

Valentine Moon

I wish I could do tonight's moonrise justice, but this is the best of my photo ability today. I was outdoors watering (don't tell my neighbors!) at sunset and the moonrise was ethereal. I dropped the hose and ran inside for my camera. Still thanking God for this moment.

A Winter Bouquet

It's been awhile, but here's what's on my easel. This was inspired by an online watercolor class that I belong to called Create 38. Each month there are challenges and assignments. This month's challenge was called 'Pathway to Spring'.
My challenge was to stay loose, have fun and give a feeling of warmth. I painted this with the help of Yo Yo Ma, Beethoven and Franz Liszt!
I enjoyed buying flowers, arranging them and painting for the last couple of days in a warm studio. I'm mentioning the 'warm' part as I've been thinking of loved ones in the Midwest right now with subzero weather. Crazy cold even for the midwest!