Rouge: Part I

I finished Flourish on Thursday of last week, and almost as soon as the last brush stroke was laid, I began this painting. Friday, Saturday and today have been very long painting days. Today was a twelve-hour painting day. After this one is done, I'm taking a few days off!

Only a few flowers are left - the bottom will be mostly greenery. This painting is 27" x 39". Each tulip is as big as my hand. 

Flourish

19" x 32" original oil
sold

This is a new favorite. After working on this all week, it turned out how I pictured it in my head. In early February, this painting will be delivered to the downtown Deseret Book in Salt Lake City where it will be for sale in their original artwork section. I remember where I was in the Thanksgiving Point Gardens when I photographed these tulips. I am excited for warm, sunny weather in a few months.

This little peekaboo bud is my favorite part of Flourish. 

It is such fun as it takes shape. I feel like a seamstress putting a pattern together.

Speaking of messes, I finished Flourish as I ran out of room on my palettes. Throwing these away after a painting is as good as throwing class notes away after taking the final. 

Flourish: Part II

Thank you Sunny for the hot cocoa! I have a hot chocolate fairy. Everyone needs one of those. 

I was at Utrecht in Salt Lake this afternoon and bought a tube of cobalt green oil paint. I prefer to mix my own greens, so it's a big deal for me to buy a ready-made green tube of paint, but I have to say that I really liked it. It wound up in the mixes above. I 

I worked some more today on my 19x32" painting Flourish. It's coming along. I'm on the home stretch and can feel the end in sight. The greenery in my tulip paintings used to be my least favorite area to paint, but I'm starting to relish it. 

Flourish: Part I

Today I began a painting. Outside it looks like this: gray and cold. My easel is therefore full of color! It snowed today. Two days ago I was in a t-shirt.  

I love it when Buttercup naps next to my easel. 

I washed the background in orange and used charcoal to draw on the painting. This painting is 19" x 32". 

I love the beginnings...

This is how I left it for tonight. It's still snowing and since I have no hot cocoa, I'll settle for some apple cinnamon tea. I love this variety of tulip because it is pale on the outside, but the inside is bright red-orange. The angle of the tulips I'm painting show off that bright inside so well. I have had this photograph for a long time and am finally getting up the courage to tackle it. It should be a good one. 

Patient

6x6" oil
sold

My dog loves to sit and stare out into space. I don't know what she's thinking about, but she just sits there patiently, enjoying the sun. I can learn a lot from my dog. 

This is my palette after painting today. 

Thank You

This last week I held a special art sale to help pay for some unexpected hand/wrist surgery. I want to say a big THANK YOU to my new collectors and to some old collectors who came through to help me when I needed help. I fell asleep smiling last night, thinking about how blessed I have been and planning out new tulip paintings for upcoming shows and events. I think 2012 will be a great year.

I will get back to painting tulips soon (when I can concentrate for longer periods of time - my pain meds make me so loopy). For now, I am working on little 6x6" paintings of my yellow lab for Alpine Art. That is my Salt Lake City gallery and they do a great job of selling out of my dog paintings for me - people just love yellow labs I guess! I have a few little paintings that I worked on before my surgery that I haven't posted yet, so I will share those as soon as I get them photographed.

Renew

10 x 10" oil

sold

Happy New Year and 2012. I've worked on this painting for a few days and am happy to offer something white for the new year: it just felt right. I used such small brushes for this piece as you can imagine, since it's only 10x10". I'm already getting antsy for spring and trying to plan out my tulip photographing trips (I'd really love to go to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Washington), which stresses me out, since I can't control Mother Nature and peak bloom times are so erratic year to year. I am hoping to find plentiful reds and whites this Spring - I have not had good luck finding large beds of reds and whites the last couple of years. 

Thanks to Alpine Art for selling all but one of my paintings over the holiday season, and thank you to my new collectors. I hope to meet you at future art shows. 

-Cristall