Skip to content

Tag: reference photos

May 18, 2011
Kathy
5 Comments

Weigela Blooms

Posted in Reference Photos

Weigela Blooms

May is a wonderful month for flowers in bloom here in Pennsylvania. I try to grab my camera and capture all of the blooms before they are gone until next year.  Ticks are the only things that make me hesitate before charging into the garden to get a great photo. Is there really any  reason for ticks to exist? Other than to gross me out….. This week the weigela are in bloom. The flowers are like miniature trumpets of pink. I just love the leaves on the 2 – 4 photos.   Eventually they will be featured in future paintings. Enjoy!

Weigela

The above Weigela is the Wine and Roses variety

Aren't those leaves fantastic?!  They look like I took a paintbrush to them.

weigela close up

This weigela is the Verigated Weigela

weigela close up

May 8, 2011
Kathy
4 Comments

Ack! Organizing Photos

Posted in Organization

Ack! Organizing Photos

I take lots of digital photos….. as do most people these days.  How to keep them organized…..? 

In general, I have them separated into files on the computer.  I do print out many of them.   Since I used the photos to paint from, I need the physical photos for reference.  Propping up a computer  near me and my paint  …… oh such a bad idea!  Unless I want a very personalized paint splattered…. decorated?….computer that no one would mistake as their own.  I clip photos to my easel and drawing table with bulldog clips so I can see them as I draw and paint.

I want to be able to use the photos for years to come, so printing them out  from the regular printer doesn't seem like a great idea to me. I've been using Shutterfly.com for actual printed photos. You upload the photos and either use their service  to have the photos sent to you or send them to your local Target to be pick up that day. 

How are you keeping your photos organized? Any suggestions are welcomed!

May 3, 2011
Kathy
3 Comments

The Scent of Spring

Posted in Reference Photos

The Scent of Spring

Hi Everyone!

Most of the weekend  was spent moving one of the kids.  I spent a lot of time outside – outside carrying boxes in and out.   No time for painting but lots of time for observing the surroundings.  What struck me the most  was the smell of spring. The smell of freshly laid mulch and the heavy sweet  perfume of the spring flowering bushes. Lilacs and viburnums are the ones that were by far the strongest scents this weekend. 

My favorite by far is the Chesapeake Viburnum. I have one the yard and the perfume scent of these flowers carry across the neighborhood.

Chesapeake viburnum

Aren't  they beautiful?   My next favorite scented bush is the Lilac – a classic.

Lilac

My personal favorite lilac is the 'Madame Lemoine' white lilac. It is a showy white and very fragrant.

White Lilac

Enjoy the wonderful scents of Spring!

April 27, 2011
Kathy
4 Comments

Behind The Easel look at Monarch and Butterfly Bush Painting

Posted in Peeking Behind the Easel

 Behind The  Easel look at  Monarch and Butterfly Bush Painting

My newest painting is finished and matted. I've painted a number of small Monarch butterfly paintings recently. They are such fun to paint.  This time I wanted to paint the monarch on the butterfly bush, with all the wing detail on display,  the way they look in the summer  when they show up in my yard.  The butterfly bushes are not in bloom here and this is where the reference photos and sketch book come into play.

I've taken a zillions photos of the butterfly bush over time. I pulled a few that  showed a single stem up close  to use for this painting. 

Butterfly bush photos

I also pulled out my sketch book that I have detailed the butterfly bush during the summer  for a larger unfinished  painting.   I've seen some artist's "rough" sketches that  are gorgeous  and look ready to matt and sell for a premium price. Mine are not…… not at all.  However, they provide the mechanics of what the flower and stem look like for me. I rough sketch each, and then detail the colors and where the colors are on the flower and how the leaves grow off the stem. These are the finer details that I can't always see in a photo.

Butterfly bush flowers and leaves

Here is the finished painting:

Monarch butterfly on butterfly bush

You can find this painting at my Etsy shop.  And that is a peek behind the easel.

April 25, 2011
Kathy
4 Comments

Gorgeous Scarlet Quince

Posted in Reference Photos

Gorgeous Scarlet Quince

 How gorgeous is this flower?

Texas Scarlet Quince

Texas Scarlet Quince

I bought three small quince bushes about 9 – 10 years ago to plant along the backyard hill.  The bunnies LOVED them!  Our yard is overrun with rabbits who normally leave most of the plants alone…..except for the quince. They could not get enough of these bushes, nibbling them right down to the ground. Somehow one managed to grow quietly when they weren't looking.  For whatever reason, this year it went wild and bloomed! It  is so loaded with flowers, the branches are sagging. I just love seeing this beauty, full of red flowers, standing out like a wonderful sore thumb in a sea of yellow and pink spring flowers. 

Texas Scarlet Quince

I can't wait to paint these flowers!