Romantic Botanicals #7

Lord Naughty of the bees

Our pear tree is in bloom. It is mad with all sizes of bees. I smash my easel right up beside them to get a close up view. There are clusters of buds and blossoms as this is the first day they are in bloom.  I have decided that because I am aiming for the romantic feel of flowers I am going to start titling them like romance novels.

This painting started with a deep green base and has a Gothic feeling about it. There were lots of bees to paint which made me very happy. I watched them and recorded their flight paths and where they landed on the blossoms. I did a lot of smearing and trailing though wet paint.

romantic botanicals #7, Lord Naughty of the bees, May 6,  2016 oil on canvas 9" x 12"

Romantic Botanicals #6

Psychedelic 34 degrees

It is hot 34 degrees and the yellow tulips were in the direct sun. The only way I managed to paint during mid day was to stick an ice pack behind my knee. It cooled my hot blood.

More more more with hot and swirly undertones.

romantic botanicals #6, Psychedelic 34 degrees, May 5,  2016 oil on canvas 9" x 12"

Romantic Botanicals #5

Yellow Cups

Today I slotted in painting between going to the printers and driving a choir group across town. If I was not doing one-a-days no art would have left my body today.

I love the fullness of the cup shape of the tulips. They had just opened for the first time this morning so there is a fresh look to the petals. I accentuated the fresh look by doing single stroke panting with no over painting on the tulips. I like the intensity of the colour in this flower. It is a super saturated yellow.

romantic botanicals #5, May 4,  2016 oil on canvas 9" x 12"

Romantic Botanicals #4

Yellow is Closed

Everything is in bud form hiding inside their petal walls.

Upright strokes.  Blocks of flat yellow that are not ready to let the bees in and yet suggest feminine crack formations.

romantic botanicals #4 May 3,  2016 oil on canvas 9" x 12"

Romantic Botanicals #3

Windy Bell

My son was upset when I was painting this so he said, " I'm going to dig up all the flowers so you can't paint them." Then he got out the shovel.  He was bored and I was supposed to fix that. It is hot and dry and there are only a few blue bells not wilted. Even though the flowers were threatened with being dug up, none were.

I smear the paint as wind makes the plant tract many positions.  Xes of the pine needles and the Os of the choke cherry pits ring the base of this swaying plant.  It is a light and fast work.

romantic botanicals #3 May 2,  2016 oil on canvas 9" x 12"

Romantic Botanicals #2

Evening Bells

The evening sets and all is so still. No wind. There are a few bees but none visit these flowers and there is a sense of quite waiting.

I painted both plants because I am thinking of cross pollination. The flowers are so near each other but are waiting for a pollinator to bridge the gap. I was trying to paint this still gap between the two.

romantic botanicals #2 May 1,  2016 oil on canvas 9" x 12"

Romantic Botanicals #1

first painting

Midnight Bells

I am continuing my Botanical series, that I did last spring, of plein-air daily painting of the plants in my yard. Last year I focused on recording the space I am responsible for. This year I am thinking of purpose of flowers for reproduction for the plants. Insects that carry the pollen will be recorded. I will be referencing romance novel covers as a model, using their monotone colour choices and applying it to the flowers in my yard.

My 14 year old daughter came out to paint with me but went back in the house saying, "The flowers are too small, I will paint next week."

The blue flowers are the first to appear in our yard and they are tiny. A bee visits all the blooms and moseys about in the leafy ground cover. I choose a blue to represent the blue flowers. It is a dark midnight blue and makes the flowers seem like lamps or stars.

romantic botanicals #1 April  30,  2016 oil on canvas 9" x 12"