Monday 7 July 2008

Flowers to the Left Flowers to the Right...

I don't particularly see myself as a flower painter but at the moment there are flowers galore around our house. Now I am happy and that's a good thing but with so much proliferation I feel I have to paint as many as I can while they are there for me.
First up is a full blooming carnation which survives in glorious effusuion while all the other flowers in the bouquet, particularly the roses, are wilting and going brown:

Acrylics on paper, 30x40cm: "Bleeding Carnation"; This flower is so deep and powerful I felt my response had to be equally strong, so it had to be acrylics used very loosely and expressively to say how I felt about it.
Pleased, but somehow not quite there yet. Go deeper:

Acrylics on paper, 30x40cm:"Dark Carnation"; Very fluid washes of strong colour laid down with uncompromising strokes.

Working in the studio is fine when the rain is battering down outside but when the sun bursts out I grab what I think is necessary for an outdoor session - sketching easel, pot of water, tin palette with some freshly squeezed acrylic colour, A2 plywood board with a sheet of heavy cartridge paper, and my trusty Chinese caligraphy squirrel brush (large). These Shasta Daisies are constantly catching my attention as the grow at warp speed and reach for the sky:

Acrylics on paper, A2: "Shasta Sunburst"; Most are still just about to open but a couple have already spread themselves to reveal their bright yellow centre like big frilly fried eggs.


Acrylics on paper, A3: "Oh You Are Awful, But I like It!" If only we had more than two weeks of warm weather during the year!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

these are nice paintings...

arlene,
Puyallup florist

daviddrawsandpaints said...

Thank you, theysaywordscanbleed, for visiting and for leaving your comment. I try my best!