Amazing Lacecap

The hydrangeas are amazing this year. I live in a coastal community and the conditions must have been perfect as everyone's garden have masses of heavy laden hydrangeas. This one is the Lacecap variety, a delicate flower- so sweet and pretty.

I painted it from direct observation in front of a window and yes that yellow line was on the street. I felt like it just worked in my composition.

Art of The Ocean State

Very pleased to tell you that my painting Quiet Morning can be seen at the Wickford Art Association exhibit- Art of the Ocean State. Wickford Art Association is a wonderful gallery with a full range of classes and exhibits. 

I painted this plein air from a little park on Washington Street in Newport. It's a shady park til lunchtime at this time of year, which was particularly nice as the day was very hot.

I'm in NH this weekend and will miss the opening but send a big thank you to WAA and my fellow artists who are also exhibiting.

Purple Haze

The last in my little iris series, until next spring. Each one is 5x7.

Rosemary's Iris

Plein air painting has many challenges- wind, bugs, sun on the support, to name a few. When the sun hits the surface you're working on, it becomes quite a challenge to judge the value of a color. It works best for me to have my panel or canvas in the shade. But as we know, time stands still for no one, and that sun will move!

Yellow Iris

Another from the iris series, a favorite flower of mine. My grandmother had masses of them, appearing each spring after the daffodils. They told me summer was just around the corner.

Margaret's Iris

While they were still blooming, I painted a few iris in my neighbors garden. They welcomed me to sit and become totally absorbed in my work. The big challenge is to distinguish flower bloom from background, so I played around with finding the right value contrast between the edges of the flower and the background. 

Friday Finish

The weather took a turn for the worse, so I brought the flowers into my studio to finish the painting.

I enjoyed the pattern of this tablecloth as well as finding balance and harmony within the composition. This painting is 16x20;  my primary goals were to link the dark shapes and create a circular path for the eye to follow. The first to droop and wither was the big white hydrangea on the left of the arrangement and I was glad to have the rose done early as the bright studio lights made it open quickly. I kept the upper shape I saw when I started the painting outside, a touch of discord/ambiguity to an otherwise pretty painting.