"Primavera" (oil on stretched canvas; 18" x 24") nfs

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Danni Dawson, my portrait painting teacher, gave the class an assignment for the spring break--either a large still life or a 3-4' full-length portrait in outdoor setting.  The operative word was BIG.  I considered painting a self-portrait, because I have a perfect reference photo.  But where do I hang a 40"-long painting?

Then, I thought of the picture of spring flowers with my darling daughter in the background that I took three years ago.  Get two birds with one stone, as it is both a still life and an outdoor portrait!  How big?  A 24" x 30" or a 22" x 28" canvas would make the girl's face larger than life size; do I want to see it day in day out in the family room, no matter how much I love my baby?

So I settled on a 18" x 24" canvas, with a 6 1/2"-long head of my daughter.  It took many sessions to finish the portrait/still life.  The subject, my husband, and myself are all happy with it.  We'll see what Danni has to say about the painting.

By the way, why did I title the painting "Primavera"?  Because it is about spring--the season and the phase in a life!

"Daffodils and Hyacinth" (watercolor; 10" x 7")

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We have many different kinds of daffodils that flower non-stop in the spring for almost two months as some are early bloomers and others, late ones.  In the painting, you can three varieties of daffodils.  For the darker, complimentary contrast, I stuck a stem of purple hyacinth in their midst.  Voila, a beautiful arrangement!

"Hyacinth and Forsythia" (watercolor; 10" x 7")

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I found a pile of photos of spring flowers I took last spring during the cleanup of my studio.  Although this winter hasn't been severe, images of spring flowers basking in the sun are always a cheerful sight.  In particular, I liked this one of pink and purple hyacinths and a couple of forsythia sprigs.  The small bouquet makes a pastel, yet primary, harmony.  Lovely, isn't it?

"Spring Delights" (watercolor; 10.5" x 15")

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A row of small vases filled with bright spring flowers--yellow and white daffodils, yellow woodland poppies, and pink and purple hyacinths.  Have you seen a more cheerful still life?

There was another, smaller version of this painting, which I finished on October 21, on the day of my fainting and big fall.  Unfortunately, the painting got spattered with my blood.  I decided to keep it as a memento mori, as the reminder of how short and precious life is.

"Daffodil Dazzle" (watercolor; 9" x 9")

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Daffodils are pure sunshine.  If you feel sad and hopeless, get some daffodils.  Every fall, my husband and I plant hundreds of bulbs, most of which are daffodils.  Come spring, we are in a daffodil heaven!

Two springs ago, I made a dazzling bouquet of white and yellow specialty daffodils in a white porcelain vase.  Then I threw in a small sprig of purple hyacinth to match the purple shadows.  Oh, I love daffodils! 

"Pink Hyacinths" (oil on stretched canvas; 9" x 12")

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I kept a potted pink hyacinths in my living room to watch them bloom. At their peak, the room smelled like spring--fresh and fragrant.

"Spring Song" (watercolor on paper; 8" x 8")

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Daffodils and Hyacinths from my garden are an enchanting spring song to my ears!

"Spring Miracles" (oil on linen; 12" x 12")

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Every spring is a miracle.  This spring feels more so than others.  In the studio scented with hyacinth, I transformed the first cuttings from my garden into a work of art.  The painting is filled with joy.

"From Spring Garden" (oil on linen; 10" x 12") sold

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Reference photo

A month ago, I posted the above photo on my Facebook fan page.  A fan who saw it sometime later asked me whether I was going to paint from it.  I wasn't; if I had planned on it, I would have put the vase on a piece of white paper so that I could see the shadows.  The bouquet seemed too complicated at that time.

On second thought, I decided to give it a try.  And I am glad I did.  Compare "From Spring Garden" with "Spring Bouquet", which I painted two years ago.  What do you think?  I have come a long way!

"Spring Bouquet" (oil, 12" x 12"; sold)

"Fresh as Spring" (watercolor on paper; 13 1/2" x 18") sold

"Fresh as Spring"
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"Pretty in Pink" (watercolor, 17" x 12")
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My daughter with spring flowers

As you may remember, I was taking pictures for the future watercolor floral projects when my daughter popped into the still life setting.  A Facebook fan of mine who saw the above picture asked me whether I would paint from it.  My answer was "probably not."  But the question reminded me of an old watercolor painting of mine--"Fresh as Spring".

The same thing happened at that time too.  I was taking pictures of hyacinths in the kitchen when my daughter, then a little girl, suddenly leaned on the table. Instead of yelling at her to get out of the picture, I laughed and took another picture.  I liked the impromptu photo so much that I painted from it.  She was about the same age (three) when she posed for "Pretty in Pink" at a rose garden in Portland, Oregon.  Isn't she cute? She is the love of my life.

I wonder if you have noticed something interesting.  Toddlers and preschoolers are not self-aware, generally speaking, so they act and smile naturally in front of the camera.  By the time they start school, the kids start making faces when they are told to smile at the camera.  If you are thinking of commissioning an artist (not me; I don't do portrait commissions) to do your young child's portrait, don't wait too long!

"Spring Bouquet" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

"Spring Bouquet"
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"From Spring Garden" (oil, 12" x 12")
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I painted "From Spring Garden" last spring after having taken Robert A. Johnson's still life workshop, excited at the realization that I could paint floral still lifes in oil.  I picked out three favorite spring flowers from my garden, challenging myself with some with florets--lilac and hyacinth.  I did a few more still lifes, always tormented by the conflicted desire--shall I go outside to paint flowers on such a beautiful day or stay put in my studio to learn to set up and paint still lifes?  The pleasure of companionship of fellow plein-air painters usually won out.  By late fall, the pickings from my garden were slim. Japanese anemones were the best I could do; "White Japanese Anemone" was the result.

"White Japanese Anemone" (oil, 12" x 10")
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I love flowers with multiple tiny florets. Think lilac, cherry, hyacinth, hydrangea, etc. They are hard and intimidating to paint though.  It is funny that I used the word "intimidating."  How can anybody be intimidated by such small and lovely things?  But I do.  That is why I had printed out the reference photo for "Spring Bouquet" last spring, but never got around to paint from it.  The familiar delay tactics, if you know what I mean.

Spring is just around the corner in northern Virginia, with the temperature in the 50's day after day in late January!  I finally got inspired to paint "Spring Bouquet."  The setup on the kitchen table in front of a large window was backlit by the natural light from outside.  I got rid of the window panes and trees clearly visible in the picture, and painted the daffodil first.  After taking a deep breath, I began to paint gesturally the floret of hyacinth one by one.  It went surprisingly fast!  Many initial rough-edged brushstrokes were left alone to suggest movement.  After all, the hyacinths were alive and would have moved follwing light if I had painted them from life.  I let the painting dry a little, then refined the flowers and wobbly stems in the vase. How about that!  No reason to get stymied by flowers anymore.

I took a picture of snowdrops blooming in my garden yesterday.  Do you think I will paint them soon, or sit on the picture for a year?

"From Spring Garden" (oil on linen, 12" x 12") sold

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This still life has three quintessential spring flowers; two of them--hyacinth and lilac--are fragrant and all three are my favorite flowers.  I have tried still life in watercolor in the past, but have found it difficult.  Sometimes I would set up floral arrangements, stare at them for a while and give up even without trying.  Especially, with the flowers with many florets like hyacinth, lilac, and hydrangea, it seemed too daunting. 

So I was being very brave when I sat down to paint "From Spring Garden."  As somebody said, die trying.  And I never heard of anybody dying while painting some flowers.  Guess what!  It wasn't that hard to paint either lilac or hyacinth.  I guess it's because oil is a forgiving medium and, as long as the paints are still wet, you can manipulate them to suggest the gesture and characteristics of different flowers.

Another concern that I had about floral still life was "what happens if the flowers die on me before I am done?".  Although it took two sessions to finish the painting above on two consecutive days, none of the flowers changed too drastically to force me to abandon the project.  I am very much encouraged with my new-found passion of still life painting and am going to go shopping for more fabrics.  Did I tell you that I sew sometimes and love to go to fabric stores?  My art just gave me a good excuse!