Behind the studio
Posted in Reference Photos
After a day with temperature in the high 90’s, a cold front came marching in with magnificent dark clouds. Take a look:
The clouds looked like they were from the Wizard of Oz rather than Pennsylvania
They were moving steadily across the sky, loosely swirling. They looked like the huge clouds of large paintings of the stormy seas.
Luckily they were more bite than bark, and the storm itself was quite mild. But boy were they a site to behold! I will be using these photos in future paintings.
Posted in Reference Photos
I have some new pansies that were not blooming when I bought them. Yesterday they burst into bloom….. wow! Isn't this one beautiful?
I had no idea what the colors would be. What a gorgeous surprise. I love the color combination of purple, yellow, and pinks
Such detail on this flower – the purple vein lines and the tiny bit of white along the ruffled edges. Just beautiful. I am swamped right now, but I will definitely be painting this lovely pansy in the future.
Posted in Peeking Behind the Easel, and Reference Photos
I think it is so interesting that many of the first spring flowers are pink or yellow. I have daffodils planted near forsythia in the yard. It was not done intentionally, but I love that they both bloom roughly the same time. The big burst of yellow shouts out Spring! like nothing else. Here's burst of yellow from the Forsythia:
You can see each flower is held onto the branch by a little bit of green stem and four petals.
Inside each flower, there is also a touch of green near the upper base of the stamen. Each flower has 4 petals with a faint raised line down the center of the petal.
I like painting then with any shade of blue background – my preference is a grey-blue or a cerulean blue, depending on what mood Iam aiming for. A painting with single branch loaded with flowers makes a statement. But I also like painting them as a peek into the entire bush ,like the left side of photo above, where the flowers seem to go on and on. No matter what the composition, they are just fun to paint for the sheer joy of burst of yellow color and the sign that spring is on it's way.
Posted in Reference Photos
I never get tired of seeing blooming daffodils in the spring. Aren't these white ones beautiful?!
All the daffodils in the yard are in full bloom.
Each year the clusters get bigger and fuller.
These two tone yellow daffodils are nestled under a bush that is just starting to bloom. You can really see how the six petals are arranged as two sets of three – three below and three above like pinwheels. I am painting daffodils on wine glasses this week. I'll have photos of them posted later in the week. Enjoy your day !
Posted in Reference Photos
Everyday is like St. Patrick's Day around here if you are thinking of four leaf clovers. Even a week later. My grandmother had a knack for finding four leaf clovers where ever she went. It seems to have skipped two generations to my daughter. No matter where she goes, she can look down and pluck a four leaf clover. The first one I remember her finding was along the edge of a parking lot when she was a preschooler. Here's the one she found yesterday afternoon in the yard:
I've read that there is a one in 10,000 chance of finding a four leaf clover. I need a calculator for the odds of finding 40 – 50 as my daughter has….. so far.
The four leaves of the clover symbolize faith, hope, love, and the fourth, luck. They have been considered a sign of luck from way back in the days of Druids. Some of the four leaf clovers are plain green like the one my daughter found, and others have a white marking like this:
photo credit: Wikimedia
She has found both variations. Four leaf clovers are sometimes called a mutation of the white clover plant. I just call it a lucky white clover plant. : )