tulips again

 

(5x9)

Lost some of the simplicity and freshness I was aiming for in the jars, but, as my mother says, not everyday's a winner.

And perhaps I'm distracted by delirium: Thursday I'm flying out to Cincinnati for a three-day workshop with Carol Carter! A dream come true--her paintings really floor me.

As an added bonus I get to meet and paint with two amazing painters/bloggers: Rhonda Carpenter and Deb Ward.

So you can see why I'm distracted!

past/future

 

(12x12)

The last of the store-bought tulips, and daffodils on their way.

last legs

 

(5x9-ish)

My store-bought tulips are drooping and de-petaling. Though they were well worth the five bucks I paid for them.

Cut back the stems and put them in little bottles for my last exploration.

I'm beginning to realize that one key to being able to paint clear glass bottles is what you put behind them. I think if I try several more of these, I may be able to simplify the bottle in the way I've been envisioning.

getting closer ...

 

(10x12)

 These tulips are being a cooperative model and hanging in there. And I'm trying to hang in there with them.

 

(4x6)

a little crazy ...

 

Took a break from the tulips, which I just couldn't face!, and went back to this canna lily from a few posts ago.

I was, and am, stumped about what to do to the lilies to make them look like lilies (which is okay; there's plenty more watercolor paper in my closet), so I thought instead I'd just put in some kind of background, fill the space.

Looks a little crazy to me, but it's made me think I should spend more time "filling space": it's a good exercise for me in making decisions, since I usually go ahead without thinking and hope for the best.

supermarket tulips

 

(6x8)

Supermarket tulips. Painted sitting down (above) and standing (below). I'm determined to someday figure out how to paint tulips, and their leaves, which give me even more trouble.

 

(7x10)

Hoping the bouquet will hold up for a few more days, at least, to give me more chance to practice. 

 Magnolia buds: coming attractions.

dabbling

 

Still pecking away at this iris painting ... trying to fill it in in little pieces.

On a whim this morning, looking at my basket full of paint tubes, I took out a tube of thalo blue (yellow shade) and thalo blue (red shade). I have never kept thalos on my palette: they are so strong; but I mixed the YS with a little yellow and the RS with a little blue and got a beautiful bright green and a lovely translucent purple. I used thalo blue in the background on the left and right.

And I'll be adding them to my palette.

Started another painting--it's supposed to canna lilies, but, right now, I can't tell what's what!

And finally, a few photos I took in my yard: house finch, Carolina chickadee, and house sparrow.
Saw a Carolina wren at the feeder today, but didn't get his picture.

irises

 

(7x10)

I feel like I always mess up when it comes to the leaves ... I put in the wrong number, or in the wrong place. Will have to add a few more here--at bottom and showing at top--to balance it out.

More irises: wip.

 

(8x12)

method + paper

 

I watched a couple of Birgit O'Connor videos on YouTube and thought I'd give her method--filling a petal or shape with water then putting in the color--a try. I found it to be harder than it looks!

My flowers are much smaller than the size O'Connor works, which may be a problem, but I really chose the wrong paper.

 When I cleaned out my studio I made a pile of papers to try out to see if they were worth keeping: this paper was one of them, and the paint just didn't flow on the surface the way it needed to. In the canna lily especially, I had to push the paint around, which made kind of a mess.

I'll try again with one of the papers I know better.

The fox sparrows I saw earlier in the week are passing through the Midatlantic from their southeast-to-Gulf of Mexico wintering grounds to their summer homes in northern Canada.