VIVA Membership show at Hardware Store SOLD

     A bouquet of late summer cosmos and zinnias gathered from our garden.  The light was placed directly overhead and added dramatic lighting to the bright pinks and reds.  Painting light reds can be a fun challenge.  If you add white to the mixture to make the red light, it turns a pasty pink, not at all like the intense red of the velvety zinnias.  I borrow a technique from watercolor and  paint the bright reds with transparently to allow the light of the painting panel to brighten the color. 
     This painting will be in the VIVA members show at the Hardware Store restaurant on Vashon.  The show opens on Friday June 7 from 6-9 p.m. The address is 17601 Vashon Hwy SW.  

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 Pink Peonies SOLD

Another one from last spring.  You have to squint a lot to paint so many petals.  I usually put in too much detail and wind up rubbing it out in the last two minutes of the painting.  On my ETSY store.

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.  

Three Little Daffodils on Black SOLD

The daffodils are blooming late this year and holding on during the cool spring, waiting for the bees to emerge. I wanted these flowers to look like they were glowing from within.  I put a strong light on one side and threw a shadow over the background to increase the contrast.  This one will be in the Vashon Art Studio Tour the first two weekends of May. I will be showing at stop # 23 in Dockton.  Map of Art Studio Tour

Pink Rose, Square Jar, Light and Dark Green SOLD

This rose is a favorite to paint; it has single roses of a beautiful pale pink color.  It is actually the rootstock of a grafted rose; the grafted rose is on the wane but the vigorous rootstock is sending out lots of canes.  I've posed the flower against a green background and enjoy how the cool dark blue green background and lighter yellow green leaves complement the pinks.   Painted from a still life I set up in my studio. 

Mini Daffodils, Glass Vase, Blue Jar on Blue SOLD

Something about this says spring.  This is a mix of all-yellow mini daffodils (which are about the size of a quarter in diameter) and a small white yellow cupped jonquil.  Both kinds of daffodils have multiple flowers on a single stem so the bouquet is light and airy and full.  On my ETSY store

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.

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

Yellow Daffodils on Gold

A bouquet of spring daffodils to mark the season.  Rather than paint each individual flower I tried to paint the whole bouquet with light values, middle values, and dark values grouped together, to give a better sense of the volume of the bouquet.  It is hard to make a dark yellow - if you add black to yellow, it turns green, the secret is to add a bit of purple which is the complement of yellow.
On my ETSY store

Daisies and Bachelor's Buttons SOLD

These are from my daughter's cutting garden.  I like how loose I managed to leave the flowers - most of the flowers are just suggested except for the center daisy which is painted fully.  I also like the colors; blue and white are so summery.
10" x 10" oil on panel