"Iris Love" (watercolor on watercolor paper; 8" x 6") sold

sold

My purple iris watercolor paintings are selling like hotcakes. This one is the fourth one since the beginning of May. I painted it last week and put it on auction on dailypaintworks.com. And it has a bid. I must paint some more!

"Double Iris Glory" (watercolor on paper; 10" x 7") sold

sold

It is the iris season in my garden. My neighbors taking a walk stop by to admire my purple irises. Oh, I love them!

"Bouquet with Irises Nigella and Foxglove" (watercolor on paper; 10.5" x 10.5")

click here to buy

Yellow, blue, and purple bearded irises, yellow Dutch iris, Nigella, and foxglove in a white porcelain vase with rose decorations are really the very best my garden can offer.  Yup, I have been holding out the best among my recent watercolors until the last!

"Delft Blue Love" (pen and wash; 11" x 5")

click here to buy

My irises bloomed again in the fall to my great joy. I put a stem with two flowers and a bud in a Delft blue vase for this minimalist still life in pen and watercolor wash.  I love it so much that I am going to a series of paintings in pen and wash!

"Morning Irises" (watercolor; 8" x 6") sold

sold

Curiously, some of my irises started blooming at the end of September.  After a rainy week thanks to Hurricane Joaquin, the sun finally returned to my garden.  My spirit soared to the sky at the sight of purple irises glowing in the morning sun!

Irises blooming in my autumn garden!

"Iris Beauty" (watercolor; 6" x 6")

click here to buy

A purple iris glowing in the sun is a beautiful sight!

"Purple beauties" (watercolor; 10" x 7") sold

sold

A few days ago, I painted these same purple irises from a slightly different angle. Which one do you like better?

sold

"Purple Iris Glory" (watercolor; 8" x 6")

click here to buy

Last fall we planted several iris bulbs and eagerly wait for them to bloom.  I even remember the day when the first flower opened up--May 10th!  Perhaps we should add a few more bulbs this year, since one can't have too many irises.

"Spring Beauties" (watercolor; matted, 12" x 10") sold

sold

Irises are my favorite flowers.  Okay, okay, I also love peonies, roses, daffodils, lilacs, etc., etc.  Let me rephrase my statement: irises are on the top of my favorite flower list.  Among the rainbow colors in which irises come these days,  purple is the favorite color of mine.  Expect to see more of purple iris paintings in the following days!

"Iris Glow" (oil on stretched canvas; 10" x 8")

click here to buy

I celebrated the first iris to bloom in my garden with its portrait.  After a week of working on portraits, it was fun to paint loosely and expressively!

Weekly Original Watercolor Greeting Card Giveaway!

I am giving away this lovely card this week!

A new month and a new adventure!  I am going to give away an original watercolor greeting card every week!  A lucky Facebook fan will receive the above card with my hand-written message this week.

How to win my frameable card?  First like my Facebook page.  Then, share my posts generously during the week.  Invite your friends to like my page too.  I will announce the winner next Sunday morning on my Facebook page.  Good luck and thank you for playing!

"Purple Irises in the Sun" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold

sold

I realized that all of my iris paintings were done in a portrait, i.e., vertical, format.  It is not surprising, as that is how irises grow--tall and majestic.  I decided to challenge myself to paint a horizontal iris painting.  The dark reds and greens in the background make this small painting pulsate with heat!

"Sun-Kissed Iris" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

sold

Lately I have been re-reading Mark Christopher Weber's Bold Strokes: Dynamic Brushwork for Oils and Acrylics, which had got me into water-mixible oils in the first place a couple of years ago.  I thought I could use a reminder from him that I should be more decisive and energetic in my brushstrokes instead of being timid and overworked.  I did a preparatory value drawing, got the board ready, and generally diddled.  Afraid to be bold and decisive.  You've been there.

Eventually--about two hours later--I started painting.  Calculating that it might turn out to be a total flop, I was using a linen piece with another drawing on it; I covered it up with a burnt sienna wash.  Thanks to Weber, I even used, for the background mixture, raw umber--a color so reminiscent of the product of a certain bodily function that I avoid like plague.  I didn't fiddle; I really tried to be economical in brushstrokes. 

Once I got going, it took an hour from the start to the finish!  Wow.  The painting glows.  Is it because of the burnt sienna wash (who would have thought it would work for a purple flower)?  Or is it the strong value contrast?  I even like the raw umber/ultramarine background color.  There is really something to trying new things, pushing oneself beyond a comfort zone.  I am also happy to be back to daily paintings.