Sweet Tooth Collage (oil)

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Do you remember these "sweet" paintings I did for my Pastry Pleasure" series in February?  They are back!  I used iPiccy.com site to create a much bigger file for large prints.  You can order a print as large as 36 x 36"!

This is it for now.  I am going to take a well-earned break for a week.  Do you know that I have been blogging every single day since January 14th!  When I come back, I will share the collage of my "Spring Fever" paintings and announce which painting I am going to give away.  Stay tuned!

"Kids" (watercolor on Strathmore Aquarius paper; 14" x 20") sold

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Can you feel the bright sun and warmth of the day, when I saw the scene at a petting zoo in Oregon?  I will tell you how I created the glow.  You first treat the Strathmore Aquarius paper with gloss medium, which makes it slick and nonabsorbent. (Aquarius is the part-synthetic paper which, although light-weight, doesn't buckle when wet.)  Paints puddle and float; so let them mix on their own and dry naturally.

The beauty of the technique is that paints can be easily lifted to reveal the glowing, pure white of the paper.  But painting on such a treated surface is also tricky, because you can inadvertently lift the previous layer while glazing--use a light touch!

I like to use granular paints like French Ultramarine and Holbein's Mineral Violet; you can see the effect of granulation clearly in the background.  After it dried completely overnight, I lifted the sun-struck areas and painted the boy who is feeding a pony and three goats.

"Kids" was published in How Did You Paint That?: 100 Ways to Paint People and Figures in 2003.  It also won an honorable mention in The Art League show in 2003 and an honorable mention in the Potomac Valley Watercolorists Invitational Show in 2004.

"Zebra Love" (oil on linen; 30" x 20") sold

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This is an unusual piece for me, because I love color.  However, with zebras, who needs colors other than black and white"?  They are handsome by nature and don't need any adornments.

"Purple Glory" (watercolor on paper; 20" x 14") sold

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This may be the best iris painting I have ever done.  It just glows!  It received the Best in Show award in the Potomac Valley Watercolorists' Green Spring Show in 2007.  It is no longer available, but you can still purchase a small print.

By the way, I started selling prints of some of my paintings.  Please click here if you want to check out my print shop.  Thanks!

"Spring Light" (watercolor on paper; 8" x 17") sold

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Crocuses are one of the first flowers that bloom in the season, sometimes peeking through a cover of snow.  If you have the bulbs planted in a pot, you can even force them to bloom in winter.

Most artists paint light.  The subject matters are often inconsequential.  In "Spring Light," I was painting the bright spring light as much as the backlit crocuses by the window.

"First Daffodils" (watercolor on paper; 6" x 8") sold

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matted size: 10" x 12"

March has such an unpredictable weather.  One day, it is a balmy day; people are out and about in T-shirts and shorts, basking in the sun.  The next day, it is breezy and chilly; it may snow too.  When I took the reference picture for the painting last week, my hands were freezing!

Daffodils uplifted the spirit of William Wordsworth two hundred years ago.  They will continue to work their magic until the end of the time.  I love daffodils.

"First Daffodils" is the 14th and the last of the "Spring Fever" paintings.  I could have done a few more, but I decided to stop before I start feeling burned out.  I may do another watercolor floral series later in the spring when I itch for watercolors again.  If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Lenten Rose" (watercolor on paper; 6" x 8") sold

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matted size: 10" x 12"

Lenten Rose, or hellebore, is a tough plant whose foliage stays green all winter, then starts blooming in late winter.  From its delicate appearance, however, I bet you wouldn't know it!  This is the first time I have ever painted lenten roses.  I have a feeling that it won't be the last.

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Peonies in Morning Light" (watercolor on paper; 7" x 7") sold

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"Peonies in Morning Light" was painted a little differently from my other watercolor paintings in "Spring Fever" series.  It had to do with the delicate pink peonies bathed in morning light.  If I had left the ground pure white, they would not have sung; instead, the painting would have looked anemic.  I first applied several layers of gradated washes on the background until I felt right, then I painted the subject.  I love the result!

"Wisteria House" (watercolor on paper; 20" x 14") sold

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The white manor house at George Washington's River Farm in Alexandria, VA gets draped with purple wisteria flowers every spring.  It is a sight to look forward to, and I rarely miss it.  I once painted wisterias on a red-brick house.  Boy, the painting looked ugly.  Wisterias and a white house are like hydrangeas and a white picket fence.  They enhance each other, making the charm of the flowers and backdrops multiply by many times!

"Wisteria Song" (watercolor on paper; 7" x 5") sold

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A graceful spray of wisteria with petite, late-blooming daffodils makes an exquisite spring bouquet.  What do you say?

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Dogwood and Scabiosa" (watercolor on paper; 9" x 7")

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matted size: 14" x 11"

The dogwood in the painting is the late-blooming variety with pointy petals.  Scabiosa is also called pincushion flowers.  One of the longest blooming perennials, pincushion flowers have old-fashioned charm, which I think complement the dogwood perfectly. They get their name from the shape of their flowers; don't you think they resemble little pincushions?

In case you are wondering, "Dogwood and Scabiosa" is the tenth in my "Spring Fever" series.  If you want to win a painting from the series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Magenta Tulips and Grape Hyacinths" (oil on linen; 8" x 10")

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Magenta tulips and blue-violet grape hyacinths in my garden were blooming gloriously one day; they were gone the day after I took the reference photo.  Deer ate them!

"Tulip Bouquet" (watercolor on paper; 8" x 10")

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matted size: 12" x 14"

Although nothing beats the flowers from my own garden, I don't know what I would do without those from the florists during the dull months between the mid-fall and the early spring.  A dinner guest brought a bouquet of magenta tulips last month.  I was already planning on doing a series of watercolor florals, so I took some pictures in the kitchen, as it was too chilly to take the tender flowers outside.  They are long gone now, but they will live forever, now transformed into an artwork!

There are two bouquets in this painting: one of the flowers and the other of the shadows.  It has an unusual, compact design with the flowers and shadows melting into each other.  Kind of tricky to pull it off, but it seems to work, don't you agree?

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Pig in the Garden" (watercolor on paper; 12" x 16") sold

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Speaking of azaleas, how about this painting of azaleas?  You don't want a pig in the garden, unless, of course, it is a cute statue like this.  There is a story behind the statue, which used to belong to the brother-in-law of my dear friend, Marilyn.  After he passed away, nobody in her family wanted the "ugly thing."  I wanted it.  I love pigs.  I was born in the year of the Pig too!

"Azalea Shadows" (acrylic on canvas; 20" x 16")

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What would happen if I apply the same approach that I have been using for my watercolor florals on a white ground to the medium of acrylic that dries fast like watercolor?  That's exactly what I did with "Azalea Shadows".  I didn't want the ground to be chalky white so, guess what, I went "wild" with pink!

I arranged the azaleas from my garden to cast beautiful blue shadows. Can you find a butterfly shape in the shadow?  If you are looking for a happy painting, this is it!

Edges are all crisp, as in my watercolors.  I used to think that paintings with all hard edges are no good.  That is one of the reasons that I had stopped painting in watercolors.  Now that I have evolved and matured more as an artist, I don't have such an attitude.  Beauty in art comes in all different edges!

By the way, I took a flower arrangement class for a year at college; flower arrangement is a big deal in Korea and Japan.  I am wondering if my "floral education" is finally paying off!

"Memories of Spring" (watercolor on paper; 17" x 8" each) sold

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matted size: 24 x 24"

When you love irises so much, you have to paint them big and in diptych!  These majestic purple irises sadly died out in my garden.  All I have are the memories.  So, in a way, the painting is the reminder of the ephemeral nature of life.  I am feeling philosophical.

"Purple Iris and Lady's Mantle" (watercolor on paper; 8" x 8") sold

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Purple irises with lady's mantle and scabiosa (pincushion flower) cast lovely shadows on a white ground.  Did you notice how expressive the shadows in my watercolor florals are?  I love them!  By the way, it's turning out to be extremely tricky to photograph these paintings.  These days I seem to be spending hours retaking and Photoshopping pictures.  The cerulean blue shadow on the right should be purple!

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Double Cherry Blossoms" (watercolor on paper; 7" x 9") sold

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matted size: 11 x 13"

The first stage: the first wash of blossoms done; the group of leaves on the left finished.

The second stage: the leaves are done; several layers of washes on the blossoms are being applied.

The third stage: the flowers finished!

The fourth stage: painting the vase is my favorite part.

The fifth stage: painting the shadows goes fast, but it's the most nerve-wrecking stage. If I ruin it, there is no going back. I have to redo the whole thing all over again!

The other day I mentioned how controlled and time-consuming the execution of my watercolor paintings is.  I took some step-by-step pictures to show you what I mean. This small painting, without including drawing,  took about three hours!  I should really raise the prices for my watercolors!

After I "finished" the painting, I put it aside overnight because something was bothering me.  On the following day, I strengthened the group of leaves on the left, while leaving the smaller group on the right alone so that it would recede.  Don't you think this minor adjustment helped the painting tremendously?

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Pansy Posy" (watercolor on paper; 6" x 6") sold

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I knew that, after I drew in the pansies, vase, and shadows, I had a small, but fabulous, painting in the making.  Honestly, I didn't think much of it when I was taking pictures of the still life.  Yes, I work from photos for my watercolor florals.  It's better for my sanity that way!  And, as you may have noticed, most flowers that I have painted so far are not blooming yet.  Old pictures came to the rescue.  When you have a serious spring fever, you can't wait for the flowers, can you?

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Bleeding Heart in Green Vase" (watercolor on paper; 7" x 7")

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matted size: 12" x 12"

The bleeding heart is all curves: the heart-shaped flowers, the arched stem they dangle from, and the palmated leaves.  You can't see the coquettish green vase for this demure still life in its entirety, but I assure you that it is also all curves!

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"First Snowdrops" (oil on linen; 7" x 7") sold

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I first blocked in the mulched ground and flowers.

The delicate flowers are now fully developed.

Snowdrops are one of the first flowers to bloom in early spring. I took the reference photo for the painting on February 12, and that was a few days after I spotted them in my garden.  That's pretty early!  I painted the snowdrops in oil, because I thought they wouldn't show at all against the white of the watercolor paper.

As you can see, I posted two step-by-step pictures.  After the second stage, the rest--the spiky leaves and a suggestion of the mulch--went pretty fast.  Very relaxing after working for a few days in watercolors, which require a methodical, time-consuming approach!

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Scent of Lilac" (watercolor on paper; 7" x 7") sold

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I love the scent of lilac.  We used to have three small lilac bushes: white, purple, and violet.  Only the white one is still alive.  As long as I have their photo or, even better, "Scent of Lilac," I will always have my lilacs in my heart.

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

By the way, I would like to thank everybody who took trouble to sign up for my email newsletter.  I had to make the difficult choice to pick just one person.  The lucky winner of "Sprinkled Chocolate Donut" is R. Meyer.  Congratulations!  R. Meyer, please contact me with your address.  I will ship the painting right away!

"Peony Love" (watercolor on paper; 9" x 7")

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matted size: 14" x 11"

Can you tell that I love peonies?  The fabulous spiky leaves that complement my beloved flowers so well belong to the spiderwort.

By the way, the bluish tint of the white ground is caused by the blue of the sky!  The beautiful shadows should be more purplish, but people have gone mad while trying to Photoshop a picture perfectly.  I've learned to let it go.

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Red Tulip Passion" (watercolor on paper; 7" x 7") sold

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Spring has always been my favorite season.  Although I live in northern Virginia, where there isn't really a bitter winter, I experience a serious case of spring fever at the beginning of every spring.  The first sighting of snowdrops and crocuses makes me go "crazy."  Pansies and lenten roses have been blooming for three weeks in my garden. I spotted dwarf irises a couple of days ago.  So it is natural and inevitable that the theme for my March Challenge should be "Spring Fever"!

To shake things up a bit, I have decided that my March paintings will be mostly watercolor florals.  Before I discovered oil, I used to be a watercolorist.  I've been told that my watercolors are gorgeous.  One of my "specialties" is the floral still life on a pure white background, such as "Red Tulip Passion."  The painting really pops out, doesn't it? I may throw in an oil painting every now and then, just because I can!