"Eternal Spring" (oil on stretched canvas; 10" x 8") sold

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I love spring so much that I want it to last forever!

"Joy of Spring" (oil on stretched canvas; 20" x 16") sold

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What a winter we are having!  The Polar Vortex!  Have you seen the pictures of the frozen Chicago Lakeshore?  Burrrr.  I pulled out a picture of peonies and watermelon to warm up my soul.  We had a fantastic spring last year.  It was mild with plenty of rain to keep the flowers going for weeks beyond their season.  The reference photo for the painting was taken on the last day of May, which is very late for where I live.

It was a hot sunny day and I and my darling peonies were wilting.  Just the thought of it made me happy as I painted "Joy of Spring".  There is nothing like sinking teeth into the slice of cool watermelon on a hot day on the patio by the side of gorgeous flowers!

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

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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!

"Summer Roses" (oil on linen; 5" x 4") sold

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I h
ad trouble titling this small gem.  "Rosy Glow"?  "Rose Brilliant"?  "Rose Shadow Play"?  In the end, I settled with "Summer Roses" although I took the reference photo for the painting in early fall.  Do you know why?  The painting just feels hot!  The sun casts colorful shadows on the petals; the background is shrouded in cool darks, from which a few sunlit leaves emerge. How would you title the painting instead?

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

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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?

"White Pansies in the Sun" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold

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I love pansies. They are one of the few hardy and dependable plants with a very long season. Their cheerful faces greet us during the entire duration of the cool season for months. In this small painting, a group of white pansies glow in the morning sun.

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

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I have a soft spot for hydrangeas.  Their huge heads of pastel florets that grace gardens in late spring tug at my heartstrings as few other flowers do.  Now the weather has turned chilly, the image of a sunny garden with hydrangeas abloom is perfect to lift my spirit.

"Bountiful Hydrangea" (watercolor on Yupo; 10" x 8") sold

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Hydrangea has got to be the most bountiful plant ever.  One small pot of hydrangea will grow to be a huge bush laden with beautiful flower heads!  I wasn't sure whether I could paint such a complex, tight subject on the "uncontrollable" Yupo.

After I put down the initial washes of the blue flowers, warm shadows in the foreground, and cool darks in the background, however, I could envision the sunny hydrangea bed coming to life.  I proceeded to develop the leaves and flowers.  If you step way back, the painting reads even better.  I am proud of myself for pulling off "Bountiful Hydrangea"!