I painted two pictures this week of orange flowers.
The first was at my painting class. There were four of us painting at the Arboretum and it was a spectacular evening. We walked through the gardens behind the Snyder building, trying to decided where to set up and we wound up in the rose garden. It had been a very hot day and that hadn’t changed by 5:30. I for one, looked for someplace to paint in the shade. I was the only one working in oils; everyone else brought watercolor. We all chose flowers and tried to paint them. It was great fun!
First Rick set up and did a quick demonstration. I watched, even though he was working in watercolors because I always learn something when I watch him paint. I was only able to procrastinate for about ten minutes, then I had to tackle my own blooms.
I had chosen a tiny, gorgeous little rose bush covered with two-inch blooms in salmon pinks. I dove right in, trying to figure out what and where my value patterns were.
Watching a watercolor demo made me miss my own watercolors. I need to get mine out and paint again. Soon as I have time.
My painting was coming along but didn’t really pop until I got to those brilliant blooms. Then, I got to pull out my cad reds and permanent rose and go to town.
I do not hate what I produced and I learned a lot.
Last week, we painted at Lake Harriet. Three of us set up at the bandstand and painted sailboats. It was an overcast cast day. I had a lot of fun painting. I always put my canvases on the mantle, so I can see them with fresh eyes. The morning after painting the lake, I looked at the canvas and thought “Wow, that’s bad.”
It’s not a hideous painting on its own, but I completely missed what I was aiming at. Despite the heavy, gray sky, my trees look bathed in sunlight. The lake is far too blue to be under that gray sky and my boats look fake. Plus, I lost the composition. The shape of the tree line and it’s reflection were what drew me and in painting it, I lost all of it. The end result is a pretty but very boring canvas. Again, I learned a lot.
I like the roses much better than the sailboats.
The second orange flower was a commission for the babies’ room; two large canvases. Each was a calligraphic, stylized bloom. The first was a pale pink peony with a cobalt blue background. The second, a bright red poppy with a teal background. I did the peony a couple of weeks ago and this week, I did the poppy. I love it.
It’s vibrant and fun to look at. I think the girls will like it.
The biggest difference between the two orange flower canvases is that one turned out exactly as I saw it in my head and one didn’t. The poppy was not ambitious for me: I’ve been doing that kind of thing for decades. The roses at the Arboretum were something new. I am not yet capable of producing in oils what I see in my head but I’m learning a lot with each try.
Sometimes, I just have to paint for fun.