Thursday, March 25, 2010

the garland briefer

(detail)
Here's a side-benefit of taking challenges: I had this vase of daffodils to paint and was looking for something else to put in the picture; Botticelli's youth was fresh in my mind.
I'm going to shock a lot of people when I say, I'm pleased. I love daffodils but usually feel my attempts to paint them are unsuccessful--I try to do it as if I were Emil Nolde, but I can't get anywhere close. So I took another tack and did them like Laura: somewhat methodical, not quite finished. This time instead of trying to draw each flower, I drew the outer edge and selected just a few throats to delineate.
Also I used Winsor & Newton's Turner's Yellow, which is a soft, mild yellow, akin to Naples but more transparent. (11x15)
I hope to get another painting or two out of these daffodils before the ones in my yard open--this year I'm expecting some with bright orange throats!--and before the magnolia tree blooms, which I think may be only days away: then it's nothing but magnolias until they're done.
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8 comments:

A Brush with Color said...

OMG, Laura, I LOVE this! Great job. Your daffodils are splendid, and the color is perfection. What a beautiful composition--really nice!

Charlene Brown said...

I'm glad you showed us the full bouquet as well, with its various levels of definition of the throats. This is a lovely composition, with just the right enticing degree of detail -- hope you can fit in another daffodil painting, than lots of Laura-style magnolias!

Carol said...

Wow! I love this, too! Beautiful!

Sherry Pierce Thurner said...

Your interpretation for this challenge is lovely, Laura. I saw Botticelli's self portrait in the Uffizi gallery, a thrll. I love the way he paints faces, and was consistently surprised by the scale of his paintings. The self portrait I saw (the one with him holding a medal) was quite small, but the famous Birth of Venus, and Primavera paintings were HUGE. The figures all life-sized or more.

Barbra Joan said...

Loving your daffodils, and thanks for that tip on the Turner Yellow, I've wanted to put it in my palette. Glad to know that its transparent.I seem to do better with transparent colors.

Claudia said...

Wonderful - wonderful! Super, modern interpretation!

Autumn Leaves said...

I am ALWAYS intrigued by paintings within a painting. This is exquisite, Laura. Personally, I like seeing Laura's take on things. It is always a delight for my old eyes. Beautiful work.

Joyfulartist said...

Daffodils are hard, you make them look easy. I really like it!