"Peonies in the Sun" (oil on linen, 8" x 10") sold

sold

I have an artist friend who is on an ongoing "peony quest".  In other words, she keeps painting peonies.  She has probably painted hundreds of peonies!  It is true that I am not as devoted to these fragrant, luscious spring flowers as she is.  Nevertheless, I feel unfulfilled if I don't create several peony paintings in a year.  How do you like my new painting?

"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!

"Heart Jelly Donut" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold

sold

I bought this heart-shaped jelly donut on the day before the Valentine's Day at Dunkin' Donuts.  When my husband saw it, his reaction was: "Hey, it's smaller than the usual round donut. I now have to eat three of these, not two!"

If you want to win a painting from my "Pastry Pleasure" series, please sign in to follow my blog. Thanks!

"Dark Kisses Confetti" (oil on linen; 5" x 4") sold

sold

Okay, you've seen my Kisses paintings and want to move on.  But I had to explore the theme further, at least one more time.  The little dots in the Kisses in "Love is in the Air" reminded me of the confetti thrown at weddings.  So I put the Kisses closer and formed a diamond shape between them.  I exaggerated the little shapes in the Kisses like confetti; the reddish pink ground has confetti-like brushstrokes all over too.  The Kisses are getting married!

"Love is in the Air" (oil, 4" x 5"; sold)

"Love is in the Air" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold

sold

I had so much fun painting Kisses yesterday that I decided to do another.  I chose a different Kisses with the paper strip standing kind of upright.  I put it in such a way that it still pointed toward the Dark one. Unlike "Dark Kisses," I pushed the ground toward pink.  I think there is a more color harmony in the second painting.  What do you think?

"Dark Kisses" (oil, 4" x 5")
sold

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

sold

I know that "Joyous Peony Bouquet" is not exactly a seasonal painting except that these pink peonies from my garden have always brought me a great joy and that I painted them joyously!

"Golden Girl" (oil on canvas; 18" x 18") nfs

nfs

Some paintings I do to sell; others for entering juried shows.  And there are paintings just for myself.  "Golden Girl" belongs to the last category.  The girl who is holding something in her right hand is my daughter when she was ten.  She had just found a piece of sea glass and was showing it off.  We were at Glass Beach in northern California.  Yes, Glass Beach--I didn't make it up.  Apparently, there used to be a bottling factory nearby and lots of broken glass made into the beach, hence the name.  The time of the day was obviously the sunset.

Reference photo

I had this girl when I was almost 40.  She was my dream child come true--healthy, happy, affectionate, and bright.  She just became a teenager this summer, and well....  She has changed quite a bit since I took the picture above.  Although I wouldn't change anything about her for the world, I still miss her when she could sit on my lap, be a flower girl, and pose for the camera gladly.  I miss those days. 


So I painted "Golden Girl" to remember my daughter at the age of ten, just as I painted her when she was a preschooler.  She was about three when she posed for a photo in a rose garden in Portland, Oregon. Of all the beauties I saw that day, she was the prettiest in my eye.

"Pretty in Pink" (watercolor, 17" x 12") nfs

I will probably do more portraits of my daughter, perhaps as a young lady, definitely as a bride, and hopefully as a new mother with her baby.  I am thankful for my family and my ability to immortalize their likeness in paintings.