Tumbling

10" x 10" oils
sold

Twirl

10" x 10", oils
sold

It was a no-brainer to continue yesterday's theme today. I just love these colors together. It snowed all day today outside my studio. I had my space heater cranked to high, my fleece socks and slippers on, and there I was painting Spring. I'm willing it to arrive.

I'm really picky about what I paint. What works best for me in this piece is the contrast between the lit and unlit centers of the two main flowers. I don't think this piece would be as interesting if the centers were both lit or unlit. Light is a funny thing. I love it when it works in my favor.

The Misses

10" x 10" oils
sold

Peppermint

21" x 18", oils

sold

Here is my last painting of 2008! It must be the recent Holiday season, but the title came to me very quickly. A friend from my church and her daughters came over to watch me paint this piece. I enjoy sharing my talents with other people, especially children who are budding artists themselves.
The hardest part in this painting was the front petal - all of it was hard. The colors didn't seem to stay when I put them down. I also painted out two light areas that were in my reference photo but just weren't working.



a close up. . . this by itself would make a very cool painting

Curtsy

17x17" original oil

sold

I've had this painting in my mind for days and days. The title came without thinking about it because the iris looks as if it's in a curtsy, plus the frilly petals are so feminine. The color choice for the background was also easy - I wanted something white-washy and soft. I usually paint on black or dark brown/purple, but I painted on bright pink for this painting.

The hardest part in this painting was the green stems and buds. They seemed so dark and it was hard to not lighten them up. The contrast is needed, at least for me, because I am a painter that likes high contrast.