Glorious Morning

This is one of the first paintings of flowers that I completed in watercolor.  I love the way the morning light filters through the flowers.

More on the peony next week.

Have a great weekend!

Welcome Spring!

I know Spring isn't officially here until the 21st but it is supposed to be near 80 degrees today! Next week will be in the 50's and 60's.

I was so inspired by Linda's delicious cupcake painting that I decided to paint this bunny, which is one of my favorite pieces that I use to decorate for Spring. It is really a mossy green but I decided to paint it purple, excuse me Winsor Violet and Opera.

Peony Progress

I stuck to my plan and became more focused on the peony. This is the part I have avoided most...The yellow, heart shaped center.

I began with a Winsor Yellow wash and added some detail with Raw Sienna. Over the Raw Sienna I layered Quinacridone Gold. For the next layer in the darker areas I made a mixture of Opera and New Gamboge for a glowing orange.

I lifted and shaped as I went and it wasn't as difficult as I had expected. The green seeds in the center are a mixture of Winsor Blue and Quin Gold with a small amount of Aureolin. I used Alizarin Crimson on the curly stems. The black around the seeds is a mixture of Winsor Blue, Winsor Green and Alizarin Crimson mixed with very little water to acheive the deepest black.

Sir Frederic Burton

Several years ago when the Internet was just gaining in popularity I was "surfing the web" when I came across a painting by Sir Frederic Burton entitled, "The Meeting on the Turret Stairs."

I felt the emotion between the subjects, Hellelil and Hildebrand so strongly that I HAD TO HAVE THIS PAINTING! I had no idea that if I had popped over to http://www.art.com/ I could have purchased a print. 

Oh well. 

I decided to paint one for myself which you see posted here. I used this method to teach myself how to paint (or draw) and I learned a tremendous amount about painting during this time.

I used colored pencil on mat board and added pastel to achieve the darkest values. 

The original of this was painted in watercolor, is approximately 6 feet tall and hangs in the National Gallery of Ireland.

It's Me!

I haven't painted on the peony in a couple of days so I decided to do a quick sketch of myself during my lunch break and post it on the blog.

I haven't drawn my portrait since I was in college!

My plan is to concentrate more on the peony in the next few weeks. I have one other painting under way and one that I am drawing before I put it on watercolor paper.

Chili Peppers

This painting is for my oldest son and his wife.

They just moved into a new, much larger home about 3 weeks before their new baby arrived. Beck (my d-i-l) mentioned that she plans to decorate her kitchen in chili peppers and I thought it would be a great opportunity to give them some original art.

This is the third in a series of chili paintings. The original was painted on 6x6 aquaboard. The background is much more golden in person than is showing on my screen.

I hope they enjoy the painting.

Life is Like a Bowl of...Currants?

Instead of boring you with step after step on the peony I want to share some of my other work with you and will update the peony when there is enough progress to show.

This painting was made from a reference photo on Wetcanvas that was taken by Valorie Cox .

Have a great weekend!