"Lotus Pond" (oil on linen; 8" x 8") sold

sold

I love everything about the lotus plant--its sculptural form, flowers, seedpods, and Buddhist symbolism.  Of course, I have to wait for five more months to see lotus flowers in bloom in my favorite park.  I went over there last Friday, a couple of days after the Nor'easter.  The scene below is what I found.  It's pretty, isn't it?  But I didn't paint it, because I know everybody is sick of snow.  Instead, I painted my favorite flowers.  How about that!

Geese in the lotus pond at the Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA

"Brilliant Lotus" (oil on canvas; 24" x 18") sold

"Brilliant Lotus"
sold

"Lotus and Dragonfly" (oil, 12" x 9")
sold

Reference photo

The lotus is one of my favorite flowers and I never get tired of painting them.  Over the years I've painted them in watercolor, acrylic, and oil.  The sculptural flower with the Buddhist association looks great in all mediums.

Last year in early June, the plein-air-painting class with Sara Linda Poly went to the waterlily pond at Green Spring Gardens Park.  My first attempt at painting the lotus from life was a disaster.  The lighting condition, however, was ideal and I came home with several terrific pictures.  The following day, still smarting from the failure, I made another stab at the lotus.  "Lotus and Dragonfly" was the result of my persistence.  Since then, I've painted several more lotus paintings, small and large, and sold them all.

When a favorite client of mine asked me to do a larger version of "Lotus and Dragonfly," I wasn't sure whether it would work.  I tried as he "begged" for it.  And, boy, am I glad I listened!  My initial fear was that the lone lotus flower and yellow green undersides of several lily pads will dominate the painting.  As it turned out, there were enough details in the shadow areas to add depth and nuance to the bold composition. 

In the small version, there was no room for playing; most subtleties had to be sacrificed for the clarity.  Not so for "Brilliant Lotus."  You can look at it for a long time and still find hidden "secrets."  My client didn't want the dragonfly (there are actually three of them in the picture).  So they went, as his wish was my command.  I don't think they would have added much to the abstract beauty of the painting anyway.  It is fun to paint big, using large brushes.  It is also great to have a client with the sophisticated eye who appreciates and is willing to pay for original artwork.  Thank you!

"Waterlily Dreams" (oil on stretched canvas; 24" x 18") sold

"Waterlily Dreams"
sold

"Where Dragonflies Play" (oil, 12" x 9")
sold

At the request of a client, I did a much larger version of the same painting.  When a painting is blown up, I often feel that something gets lost in the translation.  The charm and suggestiveness of a small painting become sacrificed in favor of details.  I was determined that it should not happen with this commission work.  I came up with the title first and stuck to it, keeping it "dreamy" and "soft-edged."  What do you think of the new painting?

"Dragonfly on Lotus" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

sold

Reference photo

Two weeks of family vacation and a few days of recuperating from a bad cold put me out of action, but I am back! I hope you who live along the East coast are doing all right despite the Hurricane Irene.

Since I haven't painted for a while, I decided to go easy and do something simple--a painting of a single lotus flower and dragonfly.  If "Dragonfly on Lotus" looks familiar, it's because I have done another painting of the same subject ("Lotus and Dragonfly").  I apologize for repeating myself, but on my defense, by the time I was finished with it, I was all sweaty and had to lie down for my exertions.  I promise to do better next time!

"Lone Lotus" (oil on linen; 12" x 9") sold

sold

Reference photo

Back to the water lily pond at Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA.  I have a collector who loves my water lily/lotus paintings and asked me to paint several for his family.  It's always nice to be wanted, so I said yes!  His original request was to paint additional versions (i.e. copies) of "By the Lily Pond".  I did it once, and decided twice was enough.  How can I copy myself on and on, really!  I had a friend who sold a painting at a gallery but ended up doing two more copies of the painting because it was so popular.  I regret that I teased her at that time, because I was now doing exactly the same thing.

Instead, I decided to do a series of new paintings of these majestic flowers; I never get tired of them.  I have faith that either my collector or some other persons will like them enough to buy my creations.  Art is my job, but I want to enjoy the art-making process as long as I live.  It shouldn't become a drudgery, something I have to do pay the bills and send my child to college, and so on. 

By the way, I am going to take a break from blogging for a short while.  I have been working non-stop since last July when I launched my website.  Time to have some fun with my family.  See you in a couple of weeks!

"Lotus and Dragonfly" (oil on linen; 12" x 9") sold

sold

Reference photo

Yesterday when I went to the lily pond at Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA, I took many photos, hoping that I might be able to use some for future paintings.  The lotus flower in the above flower caught my eye for the dragonfly it was hosting.  If you look at the picture carefully, there are two more dragonflies.  They were everywhere, landing on a flower briefly only to fly away to another.  There were no other insects--no butterflies, bees, or mosquitoes (thank goodness for the absence of the last).  Just these beautiful creatures, which do humans no harm.  I love them.  So I was thrilled to be able to capture their images in my camera.

Today, in the comfort of my studio on another miserably hot day, I painted "Lotus and Dragonfly."  I took care not to get too fussy, which is one of the biggest dangers of painting from photographs.  Another problem is, of course, the inability to see dark shadow colors.  Since I painted these sculptural flowers just yesterday, I could remember the colors of the pads and flowers pretty well.  The dragonfly was painted in last, quickly and gesturally.  So here we go--my first painting of a dragonfly.

"By the Lily Pond" (oil on linen; 12" x 9") sold

sold

Despite the threat of a heavy thunderstorm, five die-hard plein-air painting friends including myself went out to paint the water lily pond at Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA.  The thing is that we are not going to have a nice, balmy weather until September in the mid-Atlantic region.  We might as well brave the elements so that we can show off to our soft friends what we are made of.

Having said that, it was hot and very, very humid.  It would cloud up, making us all nervous, then the sun would return to cast gorgeous shadows on lily pads.  The fluctuating light and generally intolerable weather conditions somehow led me to paint decisively so that I could go home as quickly as possible.  If I may say so, I like "By the Lily Pond" very much.  Unfortunately, I lost the photo file, so I cannot Photoshop it to show you the true colors of the painting.

"Lotus Season" (watercolor on paper; 12" x 8")

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Every summer, when the lotus season comes around, I head to the waterlily pond at the Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria to greet these glorious flowers.  The sun was high when I took the reference photo and the flowers and huge leaves all glowed with translucency.  Initially, I left the background white, but it didn't work.  When I dropped the dark, granulating paints and allowed them mingle on the paper, the painting began to glow!