Botanicals #9

ninth painting
The red tulip beside our side door is closed-up because it is so cold about 5 degrees.

It is so simple the long stock leading to the shocking red bud. I paint it simply, only once and not going back into it. I shift the stock to the left side of the composing so to leave this feeling that there is more to come that the flower will advance even though it will not move like a dancer but it will have a next movement of self, an opening.

botanicals #9 May 9, 2015 oil on canvas 9" x 12"

Botanicals #8

eighth painting
It snowed on me. At first I thought the wind was brings down bits of blossoms but no it was snow in May. There are rabbits that hop and nibble their way through the yard as I paint, so I added one as it posed for me 4 ft in front of my easel.

I used a new softer brush which gave me a slapping stroke with the white. After painting the blossom clusters I wanted to try a simple branch. Some of the petals are knocked off by the rain and snow. I find myself painting in the missing petals and feel like a cheat so I brush the extra painted petals off the canvas and leave the gaps.

botanicals #8 May 8, 2015 oil on canvas  9" x 12"

Botanicals #7

seventh painting
It is raining and I chose to pick a crab apple blossom and use it as a still life in the studio.
I really wish I had a tarp or large umbrella set up. This just felt sad to do as I had picked and therefore killed the branch. The branch was so gnarly obviously from years of growth, it is from a old tree. There are birds in the trees outside my window but it is so still and lifeless inside.

It is a pale painting, the sky is pale with clouds and the blossoms are pale. I went with a soft smeary strokes.

botanicals # 7 May 7, 2015  oil on canvas 9" x 12"

Botanicals #6

sixth painting
The plum tree is still in full bloom and a large butterfly was drinking it's nectar.

I night before I was watching "The Great Painting Challenge" the British TV paint off. It is enjoyable to watch others paint and see the work progress. One of the artists sketched his paintings out with pencil first. I have not done that in a long time with plein-air work as it slows me down. I usually sketch with paint but I used pencil for this one and I am still wondering if it allows for more complexity.  It has me concentrating more on angles and comparative proportion and less on the sculptural shapes.

botanicals #6 May 6, 2015 oil on canvas  9" x 12"

Botanicals #5

fifth painting
This ball of blossoms on a stick jiggled back and forth in the wind. A lot of bees again! Must wear my hat or they get stuck in my hair.

I started with a dark background and shaped the form with white from that. 

Botanical #5 May 5, 2015, oil on canvas  9" x 12"

Botanicals #4

fourth painting

The plum tree is blossoming. There are lots different types of bees, big fat bumble bees, medium dusty yellow and brown bees and then thin narrow bees. I want an identification book on bees. I paint them but they are trickier that the stationary blossoms. I am a bit nervous as so many land on me and sadly on my pallet.

I am painting the shapes of the blossom clusters and only gesturing at individual flowers. The dark purple branch weights the painting as the rest is lacy and floating. The background is a sample color of bright spring green of the grasses below the tree.


 

Botanicals # 4

May 4, 2015  oil on canvas Brenna George

Oona is home from school sick so I make a bed for her on the desk. She reads Calvin and Hobbs and I paint.

 

 

Botanicals # 3

It is a windy day and the fragile flower on it's thin stock shutters and bends. It wavers back and forth settling on different poses. 

I paint the various poses the flower takes. I smear and make multiple lines as indicators of motion. There is bright sun and I record the white highlights in the foreground, more stationary, plant. The peachy brown colour of the background is derived from the highlights of the dead leaves and I paint it flat to mimic botanical prints where context, background is absent.

Botanicals # 3 oil on canvas May 3, 2015