A Series of Violets

I try to paint as many violets as I can before they take over my garden and I tire of their populous ways. The paintings are typically tiny, just like the little purple blooms. When they first appear, I am so glad to see their purple faces nestled in with the bright green leaves. They scatter throughout my garden beds, speckling the dark earth with purple and green dots. Here are a few of the images I managed to complete prior to their passing.

Violets and Little Orange Blooms, 8 x 8, oil on panel.

Violets and Bright Orange Light, 10 x 10, oil on panel.

Violets 4, 8 x 8, oil on panel.

Violets 2, 8 x 8, oil on panel.

First Violets, 8 x 8, oil on panel.

Daffodils and Violets, 8 x 8, oil on panel.

Two Takes on One Bunch of Flowers

When I look at flowers in the store, sometimes I am certain how I am going to paint them. They may benefit from a full interior around them, a cool background, or a deep, dark warm color, wrapping itself the flowers like a blanket. But, often as naught, I usually don’t know what I am going to do with them. The flowers can surprise me, behaving differently with different surroundings. Here is the same bouquet of flowers, one painted on a large panel with the light environment surrounding the blooms that are settled into a tall vase. Next, the bouquet, cut back, fits right in a square vase, and sits in one of my paint boxes, with just a bit of light spraying over the tops of the flowers.

Big Mixed Bouquet, 36 x 36, 2019. Oil on panel.

Daffodils, Sunflowers, and Gerbers, 14 x 14, 2019. Oil on panel.