Two Tulips Up for Auction

I have two tulips paintings up for auction this week.  It's the start of the busy season and the search is on for gift giving.  Perpetually blooming flowers in the form of a painting are a good way to start.

The auction (or buy it now feature) are at the Daily Painters website as follows:

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/449871 for the pink tulips and

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/450107 for the red tulips

Geraniums

Who would've thought geraniums with their little florets would be so appealing to paint?  The clusters that make up one flower would seem daunting.  But each little distinctive flower that make up the whole are so simple that I've returned to painting these several times over.  This time I wanted to try a little collage for the background.  This one is not finished yet but I think I will try a few more like this and perhaps add my drawing first so I can place the papers more strategically.

12" x 24"

Oil on wood panel with collage

It's that time of year......

.... when hearts are a flutter....

Back to old favourites

6" x 6" Oil on wood cradled panel

When I started these small format paintings, I meant for them to be simpler with the emphasis on brushwork but I keep going back to trickier subject matter....ellipses for example.  I do like teacups so they do end up in my paintings quite often.  I'll post the painting when I'm sure I'm happy with the end result.

November Geraniums

November Geraniums

10" x 10" oil on wood panel 3/4" deep

$240.00

They've come inside for the winter.  I'm not that good with geraniums indoors but they have carried

on their momentum in my paintings.  

I was delayed in finishing this one because I searched for a vivid pink (something like Opera which is almost fluorescent).  Not finding any, I used Permanent Rose and lightened it with Gamblin's Radiant Magenta.  A warmer pink than I was aiming for but decided to go ahead and finish this one.  I am happiest with the cluster of petals on the right.  I'm still enjoying (because it's new to me) painting

silver objects.  

Simply Complicated

Single Geranium in Glass

$85.00

What a deceptively simple flower.  A single bloom but it contains many smaller florets with variation of depths of colour throughout.  Not too simple, not too complicated.  Just nice.

Pink Geraniums in Silver

6 x 6 x 1.5

Oil on Wood Panel

$85.00

It was tricky to not overdo the geraniums as they are made up of small petals to create the full flower but having painted hydrangeas before, I was confident going into it.  Not too simple but not too complicated either.  I love
painting silver objects. Will definitely follow this one up with another containing something silver soon.

Sweet Geraniums

I enjoyed painting the silver bowl with pears a few weeks ago and had looked forward to painting more silvery things.  I'm also conscious of the fact that it is now Fall and my geraniums will have to be protected from frost until I can bring them in.  So the cycle begins, cut, arrange, photograph and hopefully soon after, paint!
I'll post the proper photo after I've contemplated this one.

Painted AND Sewn

A slight departure from my normal posts.  There is a fund raiser for our local Aviary called The Nichoir this weekend.  And I decided to paint and stitch some pillows for it.  

Handpainted on unprimed canvas and embellished with free form stitching.  The birds are appliqued onto the background.  This was very satisfying to do as I can expand on this many ways and I can indulge in my love for fabric and beautiful embroidery threads at the same time.

As experiments do, this lead to my stitching up some Fall leaves using wool, dupioni silk and organza.  I'll incorporate these into wool scarves, handmade bags and more pillows.  

Petunias Revisited

Petunias Revisited

6" x 6" x 1.5" 

Oil on Wood Cradled Panel

$90.00

This is the last stage before I put the finishing touches.  Photographing it and even posting it here before really calling it finished helps me to see the areas that need tweaking and right now, although I really like the flower in the lower right corner I see that the interior of the flower is too vibrant and should be slightly less saturated...
This is from a series of photographs I took last year and I painted one other of this series with a higher view point.  I thought it was worth revisiting.  From the 3 foot square painting of the last post to the diminutive 6" square, it wasn't quite the adjustment I thought it might take.  The two and a half hours breezed by compared to the time it took to complete the last one.

Channelling Spring

Pink Tulips

6" x 8" Oil on Canvas Board

$90 (framed)

I painted tulips while it looked like this outside.... 

I have a cheery yellow frame with linen liner to go with this painting and is included in the price.  Can't wait to do more.  I'm not sure if tulips suit my painting style or vice versa but they are a joy to paint.

Color combinations...

As I'm writing this, a chickadee just landed on the feeder outside my window,
re-inforcing the Spring theme for me this morning.  I love pinks and oranges so this painting was more about the color combination than the tulips themselves.  In the background is a painting started yesterday of one of our
newer cats (Zoe).  She has the widest, roundest, clearest eyes of any cat we've ever owned.   I'll post these as they're finished.

My other favorite thing....

Scissors on Patchwork

6" x 6" Oil on Wood Cradled Panel

$80

Late last summer I drove to Kennebunkport, Maine and spotted these scissors in a little home decor boutique that was about to close down.  I only bought the one pair but now I wish I had bought several.  I enjoy sewing but I enjoy fabric shopping even more.  These scissors just called out to be painted as I walked past my sewing machine and enjoyed the look of the brass against the patterns of the fabric.  I'm sure they will make their way into more paintings in the near future. 

Planted.......and Painted

Unbelievably, it is already the 13th of June and my first blog of the month.  So I'm making up for it by posting three.  There have been other subjects painted this month but I thought it was in keeping with my last post.  I have no illusions about painting each of the flowers in my garden as they come into season but some I must try at this smaller format for my daily paintings.  I love peonies but they are somewhat similar to the colors of these Dahlias so I will pass in favor of doing some lillies and I've been photographing them as they bloom.   All three measure 6 x 6 x 1.5 inches on wood cradled panels.

Dahlias and Wicker

6" x 6" x 1.5" Oil

Dahlia I

6" x 6" on masonite

Dahlia II

6" x 6" x 1.5"