Autumn Bouquet Zinnias and Cosmos SOLD

Zinnias and Cosmos in a small glass jar against a gray background.  An exuberant explosions of color for the end of summer.  I used strong top lighting to define and organize the shapes of the flowers.  And I positioned the tabletop at eye level to simplify the table.  This one will be in the Vashon Island Art Studio Tour the first two weekends in December - showing at the Pink House in Burton 23819 Vashon Hwy SW.  Everyone invited. 

Three Zinnias SOLD

A bouquet of the last flowers of summer in a glass jar.  I lit them from the top and painted them in high key colors with just a little bit of strong darks to make the lights all the more interesting. I like the sense of volume and space around the flowers.  This one is going to Bainbridge Arts and Crafts in December.  

Pink Anemones Just Opening.

A painting from last fall when the Japanese anemones were blooming.  These were just starting and hadn't fully opened. For this one, I worked to lose edges and keep the whole piece light and high key.
On my ETSY store

White Camellia Bouquet

The camelllia sasanqua is still blooming though we have snow and rain in the forecast for tomorrow.  It has a lovely tropical fragrance at odds with the cold weather.  I like the stiff leathery leaves against the soft white flowers. 

Boouquet of Dahlias SOLD

Summer is ending but the dahlias continue to bloom.  These luscious flowers are from a friend's garden.    Most of the flowers were in shadow in this set up; the light was in a small arc in the upper left hand corner of the painting.  To make this painting work I actually painted just a few petals; mostly I massed the values and suggest the colors. The very dark red flowers were like a black hole in the painting and I wound up lightening those flowers and limiting the amount of really dark paint.The fun was trying to make the whole bouquet read together as one thing with light and dark and volume.

Roses, Short Glass Jar SOLD

Another painting of my favorite roses.  The glass jar is almost as wide as it is tall, but it makes a nice shaped container for these short-stemmed roses.  When I set up a still life, I position the light to get the maximum drama; that means light from the side or from the back, and not from the front which flattens things out.  The side light filters through the petals and leaves, and there is just a bit of highlight on the rim of the petals.   Painted from a still life I set up in my studio. 

Opening Daffodils

Spring has been early and this is the last of the field daffodils from the supermarket, though we still have many other varieties in our yard.  I can't resist these, they are so inexpensive and such a glorious riot of yellow.  I painted this with a cool dark gray background, but when it was done I added yellow ochre to the still wet gray to warm it up and make it all more harmonious. 

Jonquil Bouquet on Blue and Blue SOLD

This spring I painted many gray backgrounds; but this one is a little more lively.  I put this bouquet of white jonquils on blue and blue and blue.  These are early jonquils, some of the many bulbs that my daughter planted last fall.  The orange centered ones are small and have multiple flowers on each stem.  I really like the large area of blue and the strong contrasting whites and oranges.
On my ETSY Store

Red Camellia, Round Jar SOLD

This camellia is just fabulous and flamboyant.  The leaves are stiff and shiny and the flowers have such strong contrast between the red petals and the yellow stamens.  Red is a difficult color to paint because it is so intense; to paint a dark red in shadow, the shadow has to be almost black and the light struck areas aren't really pink, they're still red.  It's as though the colors are vibrating in a spectrum that can't be captured by mere paint. 

Yellow Daffodil, Square Glass Jar, on Blue

These were tiny yellow daffodils, multiple flowers on a single stem.  I'm really enjoying seeing all the varieties bloom; we planted so many last fall that we lost track of what was what, and now we've got surprises in white and yellow and orange.  I like the spring colors. 

Pink Camellia on Gray

Another pink camellia painting.  The flowers are so dense and soft and the leaves are so stiff; there's a lot of textural contrast.   I like the lights in the glass jar.  These flowers last only a day or two in a bouquet, but will stay on the bush for a week.  They are among the first flowers of spring.

Pink Camellia on the Table

Spring has come early to Puget Sound.  The camellias are putting on a show.   The flowers remind me of roses (but no scent) and the leaves are waxy and stiff.  When the weather gets wet, as it often does in spring, the petals turn brown almost instantly.  12" x 12" On my ETSY store

Two Carnations in a Glass Jar

The carnations lasted beautifully and I managed to get several paintings.  This is the last for a while; now I have flowers in the yard clamoring for my brush.   The painting is a closeup of a simple bouquet with only part of the glass jar visible. I like the bright stiff red flowers against the gray background. I like the dark gray and how it contrasts dramatically with the light green of the flowers and stems. Painted from a still life I set up in my studio.
On my Etsy store

Red Carnations with Green Wall

A painting of red carnations with a bit of green in the against the wall.  I've kept the colors minimal; red and green are complements and when you mix them together you get gray.  I like the light striking the flowers. 

Three Red Carnations in Square Glass Jar

Bright red carnations in a square glass jar.  I like the saturated reds against the dark grays. 
 On my ETSY store

Four Carnations Glass Jar

I picked up a bouquet of  carnations at the grocery- such  a bright vivid red.  Then, of course I had to paint them.  I like how just a few spots of dark shadow tell the direction of the light.  I also like the reflected light on the surface of the water.
On my ETSY store.

Sunflower and Salvia on Gray

A painting from last fall when the Italian white sunflowers were blooming in the garden.  They lasted until late in the fall.  I had meant to paint them for months and finally at the last possible opportunity I picked a bouquet of late summer flowers.  There are salvia and catmint, some flowers from the broccoli which had bolted, and even a bachelor button from the previous year's volunteers.  12" x 12" oil on panel.
On my ETSY store

Yellow Sunflowers on Blue

This painting was originally Yellow Sunflowers on Gold, but I was looking at it last week and decided the Gold had to go.  Now I have a turquoise background and blue/lavender shadows which I like better.  I think the colors express the idea of "sunniness" that sunflowers imply. Here's a link to the previous version.

Daffodil Bouquet on White

A spring bouquet against a white background.  I love the bunches of daffodils in the grocery store.  I bought four bunches (40 flowers) to paint, but when I put them in the vase I found I had to take some out to have some "holes" to make an interesting shape.  Otherwise the bouquet looked like a solid yellow lollipop with a fat green stem. 
On my ETSY store

Prize Winner!

I won second prize in the Daily Paintworks November contest.  "Daisies and Bachelor's Buttons" is 10" x 10" oil on panel.  Painted this summer when my daughter's cutting garden was in full flower.  (Thanks, Annie!) I painted the front daisy with detail, but tried just to suggest the rest of the flowers.   I also liked how the background colors work with the limited palette of the bouquet.  So even though the colors are cool, the composition seems light and lively.
 Click here to see this one in my Etsy store