"Spring Posy" (watercolor on paper; 8" x 6")

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Daffodils surrounded by a ring of pink lungwort make a lovely spring posy.

"Peony, Nigella, and Foxglove" (watercolor on paper; 8" x 8")

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Pink peonies, nigella (love in a mist), and foxgloves--all from my cottage garden--make a lovely bouquet, don't you think?  Of course, these flowers are all gone; my garden looks dreadful these days, although a reblooming iris started blooming.  Apparently, it couldn't wait until the fall.  Neither can I!

These reblooming irises are more expressive than the regular ones, but you get to enjoy them twice a year!

My New Watercolor Sketchbook (watercolor on paper; 9" x 9")

My new watercolor sketchbook

Here is my new homemade sketchbook.  It is made with Fabriano 140 lb hot press watercolor paper.  I cut the sheets into 9" × 9" squares, put my watercolor paintings as covers, had them bound at Staples.  I am now ready to go for splashing with watercolors!

I use 300 lb paper for my "serious" watercolor paintings.  Having paid top dollar for the paper, I tend to get cautious and play safe when I paint on it, whereas when I work in a sketchbook, I become experimental, loose, and playful.  So I decided to make a "serious" sketchbook with 140 lb paper so that I play around in it.  If something turns out great, I can tear the sheet off the binding, mat the painting and sell it.  Am I not ingenious, or what?

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

nfs

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!

Collage of My January 2016 Paintings

Collage of My January 2016 Paintings

It always gives me a great satisfaction to see my painting endeavors during the previous month in a collage like this.  Everyday I put in a few hours of work whether feeling inspired or not.  Then, at the end of month, I make one of these collages to realize that I have been working hard.  No growth without work!

"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.

"Spring Still Life with Bleeding Heart" (watercolor; 8" x 8")

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Another watercolor floral pick-me-up!  I am going to let you in on a secret.  The pink camellia was not pink at all in my original arrangement; I only have a white camellia bush in my garden.  When I painted the flower as was in the reference photo, it simply faded away into the white background.  I rescued it by adding a pink blush!

"White Lilacs and Silver Dollars" (watercolor; 8" x 8")

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This spring, whenever the sun shined, I gathered flowers from my garden.  I put them in different vases and took pictures.  When I combined white lilacs with magenta silver dollar flowers in a pink bowl, I was clearly inspired!

The Collage of My October 2015 Paintings

The collage of my October 2015 paintings

I was super productive last month until my accident!  Which painting is your favorite?  This month I will be probably busy with custom pet portraits for the holidays, but still intend to squeeze in a few watercolor florals.  Wish me luck!

"Azalea Sass" (watercolor; 8" x 8")

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Wednesday evening of the last week, I fainted at home and fell forward.  I lost consciousness for a few seconds.  When I came to, I was in excruciating pain in a big puddle of blood. I have several fractures in the nose and right cheek bone, which require surgery.  After hospitalization, several tests and more to come to find out what caused the fainting episode, I am taking it easy.

Even after a full recovery, things won't be the business as usual.  Life is precious.  Everyday is a blessing.

The Collage of My April 2015 Paintings

The Collage of My April 2015 Paintings

April went by so fast amidst flowers!  It may appear that I haven't painted as much as usual, and that's quite true.  I was busier collecting reference photos for the hot days, rainy days, cold days, etc.  Besides, the beautiful weather was hard to resist!

"White Lilacs and Narcissus" (oil on stretched canvas; 10" x 10" x 1 3/8")

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My days are busy keeping up with the fleeting beauty of spring flowers in my paintings, in addition to gardening and enjoying the weather!  I put white lilacs and narcissus from my garden in a painted porcelain vase and came up with this enchanting still life.  How active the background should be is the ongoing quest of mine this year; for this gentle still life, I went for a calm, smoky background.  By the way, painting lilacs is a kind of aromatherapy!

Dipping my feet in the cool creek water during the walk with my daughter. We seized the day!

"Red Camellias" (oil on linen; 8" x 8")

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Camellias of the passionate red hue!  I have a small white camellia bush that has suffered weather damage last winter.  Only few buds opened this spring.  Someday I will paint from the photo below!

A white camellia with a yellow daffodil from my garden.

The Collage of My March 2015 Paintings

The collage of My March 2015 Paintings

March is out!  It was a strangely cool March, slowing down the arrival of flowers in my garden.  Despite the uncooperative weather, I've painted many spring flowers from the last year's pictures, as you can see from the above collage.  Do you have any guess on what I will be painting this month?  Spring flowers!

"Peonies and Coreopsis" (oil on stretched canvas; 10" X 10" X 1 3/8")

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This spring has been a cool one so far and all flowers are delayed at least for a couple of weeks.  I am still obliged to paint from the last year's pictures.  I can't wait to see these lovely pink peonies and yellow coreopsis blooming in my garden

"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.

Collage of My March Paintings

Collage of My March Paintings

March is almost over!  What a month it has been!  A snow storm after a snow storm. Yesterday we had an all-day-long snow/hail/sleet/rain "deluge", which caught weather forecasters by surprise and caused a major leak in my storeroom.  I am fervently hoping that I saw the last of the snowflakes for the season.

You may have noticed that I painted only nine paintings during a 31-day month.  Why? My artistic enthusiasm has been flagging.  I had to dig deeper and deeper into my old photo files to look for painting inspirations.  It has been a drag.

But no more.  The long-overdue spring has finally sprung!  My garden is about to burst with spring flowers.  Here are some I caught this sunny morning.

White daffodils

Miniature daffodils being watched over by a pig statue!

Crocuses and snowdrops

Hyacinths buds

Goodbye, winter.  Hello, spring!