"Spring Garden" (oil on stretched canvas; 12" x 16")

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Take a walk with me in the enchanted garden of white roses, May snowballs, and azaleas. The air is thick with the perfume of flowers. Time has stopped. Let's linger.

"Spring's Arrival" (oil on linen; 8" x 6")

 

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This year, thanks to a mild winter, spring has come early.  Crocuses have come and already gone!  Daffodils and hyacinths are now blooming in my garden.  I am glad I took time to paint these lovely purple crocuses that announced the arrival of spring.

"Glorious Tulips" (watercolor on Yupo; 8" x 8") sold

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Squat down in front of tulips in your garden on a sunny spring day and admire their brilliant colors.  Some have fragrance, so sniff them too.  How many months do I have to wait for my tulips to bloom?

"White Peony Rhapsody" (watercolor; 7" x 10")

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For the 26th painting of my autumn watercolor fest, I decided to challenge myself by painting multiple white peonies with little variations of values or hues in petals.  It took careful drawing, many a delicate glaze, and a Winsor & Newton paint called "rose dore" to arrive at "White Peony Rhapsody".  I am mighty proud of the result; it may be the best watercolor painting I have ever painted!

"Pink Peony Spring" (watercolor; 5" x 7") sold

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I was going through my 2013 spring photos.  Behold, I came across a picture that became transformed into "Pink Peony Spring".  Spring comes fast and furious.  When you don't have to capture them in paints, don't despair.  Just keep taking pictures.  Someday you will have all the time in the world and get to finally have fun!

"Bountiful Peonies" (watercolor; 8" x 6") sold

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Peonies are bountiful flowers. They are big; their perfumes are intoxicating; and so many buds on a stem that it is nearly impossible to prop them up to keep their pretty faces away from dirt!

"Peony Glory" (watercolor; 8" x 8") sold

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I said in an earlier post that I vary my approach to painting watercolors.  With "Peony Glory", I pretty much finished the flower and buds before moving onto the negative space.  There is no one perfect way of starting and finishing a painting.  "Be flexible and have fun" is my motto!

About half way through the painting.

"Peony Blush" (watercolor; 7" x 5") sold

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During the peony season, I go outside to check my peonies every morning: did any buds open today?  I fine one.  A pink peony bud opening shyly to the morning sun is a blushing beauty!

"Peony Brilliance" (watercolor; 8" x 6") sold

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Last year we planted a different variety of pink peonies from the one we had been enjoying in our garden.  You can imagine my joy when they started blooming.  For fun, I vary my approach to painting watercolors; this one was started loosely and I tried to maintain the spirit throughout the painting process.  How do you like the result?

A loose beginning!

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

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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!

"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.

"Bishop's Garden Spring" (oil on stretched canvas; 14" x 11") sold

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On the grounds of the famous Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC, there is a lovely garden, called Bishop's Garden. Its focal point is an old, octagonal, stone gazebo. If you visit the garden on a sunny afternoon in April, you will be greeted by the charming scene captured in the painting.

"Sunlit Crocuses" (oil on linen; 8" x 6") sold

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Crocuses are one of the first spring flowers.  When I seen them blooming in my garden, I know spring has arrived!

"Spring Pansies" (oil on linen; 6" x 8")

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Sometimes it is not the subject itself, but the background that gives me trouble.  In "Spring Pansies", painting pansies was a pure joy.  As a matter of fact, it is the best pansy painting I have ever done.  The background in the original version below, however, bothered me.  It seemed too stark for such delicate flowers, so I modified it with lighter colors, softer brushstrokes, and my favorite dots.  What do you think?  Did I improve the painting?

The original version

"Bleeding Hearts Spray" (oil on linen; 8" x 10")

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Another favorite spring flower of mine is bleeding hearts.  I can't wait to see sprays of pink bleeding hearts swaying in my garden!

"Spring Fresh Lilies of the Valley" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

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I have these dainty and fragrant lilies of the valley in my garden.  In a few weeks, they will bloom, nestled in their lush green foliage.

"Hydrangea Garden" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

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I realized that I haven't painted hydrangeas at all this year.  That's won't do!  I pulled out a picture I took last year and went to work.  Fresh as the morning dew, white hydrangeas bloom against a white picket fence.  Ah, the glory of hydrangeas!

I quickly established the value pattern with transparent paints.

I started laying down opaque paints on the background, flowers, and leaves.

"Azalea Garden" (oil on linen; 12" x 12") sold

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I saw a young mother and her daughter going down the steps in the azalea garden at the Norfolk Botanical Garden in Norfolk, VA.  It was a delightful spring day and there were many other beautiful areas in the garden park.  But the above scene is what I cherish the most of the memories of that enchanted day.

Of course, this painting would have been a perfect offering to my readers on Mother's Day. Better late than never.

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

"Lilac Spring" (oil on linen; 12" x 12") sold

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There is something special about spring air.  It is not just warm.  It is also fragrant with lilac scent!

By the way, I am working in a series this year.  I already finished the first series of nine paintings without a theme.  I happened to have nine 8" x 10" stretched canvases, hehe!  

My first series of paintings this year

The second series in progress is called "I Love Color".  Each painting is devoted to a particular color.  For instance, "Poipu Beach Sunset" is a mauve painting; "White Garden", a white painting; "Big Sur Blue", a blue painting; and "Red Poppies", obviously a red one!  They are going to be all 12" x 16" paintings.

My second series in progress: "I Love Color"

"Lilac Spring" is the second painting in the third series, "Floral Squares".  This series will be all 12" x 12".    

My third series: "Floral Squares"

The idea behind my 2014 series is to work within a certain size and format, which will suggest its own possibilities and limitations.  I am also painting larger than the so-called "daily paintings", spending more time on each painting.  No more rushing to get a painting done so that I can move on to the next one.  Believe me, it has been exhausting.  I will have more time to reflect, putz around my garden, take a walk in a park, go to museums, and have a hot date with my husband.  I will have life again!

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!