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

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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!

"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 Woods" (oil; 10" x 8") sold; "Spring Woodland" (oil; 14" x 11")

"Spring Woods" (oil, 10" x 8")
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"Spring Woodland" (oil, 14" x 11")
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When trees start budding, they turn yellow green.  Leaves are not yet big, so they don't cast heavy shade.  Walk in the early spring woods.  It's airy and bright; it's an enchanting place!  Both paintings are based on a real place--the Virginia native plant trail in the Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA.  I haunt the park in early spring, which has always been my favorite time of the year.

Did you notice a red bridge up a small stream in the first painting?  Many flowers populate the second painting, In the distance, one can see the pink redbud in bloom. In the middle ground, the dainty white bells of the common silverbell arc gracefully above the carpet of yellow woodland poppies.  I think I captured in both paintings the light-filled atmosphere of springtime in the woods.

"Spring Woodland" (oil on linen; 14" x 11") sold

sold

Reference photo for "Spring Woodland"

Uncommonly pretty "common silverbell" bush

Double-flowered bloodroot

Woodland poppy

Virginia bluebell

Jacob's ladder

Foamflower

Trillium

Dwarf larkspur

Redbud

Lately I have been haunting Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA.  I was afraid in particular that, if I were idle, I would miss the dazzling explosion of spring wildflowers along the Virginia native plant trail, as spring was zipping us by stunningly fast.  Early spring flowers that should be still with us are all gone; azaleas and lilacs are already blooming.  For two weeks, I went to the garden park every other day; I was "casing the joint," so to speak.  I was there on Tuesday afternoon.  Woodland poppies and Virginia bluebells were finally blooming in plenty.  But the sun was on the wrong side.

So I went back on Thursday morning.  It was a partly sunny, partly cloudy day--not an ideal condition for photography.  Fortune, however, favors the persistent and determined.  As I entered the wooded trail, the sun came out to stay.  Wow!  I saw several plants which I have never seen.  The park authorities have been busy and kind with labels, but they couldn't possibly tag all the clumps of ground-hugging wildflowers.  Alas, some lovely flowers will remain nameless for me.

A couple of years ago, I had painted woodland poppies--"Woodland poppies in Spring Woods."  I wanted to paint them again, hopefully better this time.  "Spring Woodland," however, turned out to be a different sort of painting.  The cheerful, bright yellow, woodland poppies are there, of course.  But they are just one of the many flowers that populate this airy, light-filled, enchanting, spring woodland.  In the distance, one notices the pink redbud in bloom.  In the middle ground, the dainty white bells of the common silverbell arc gracefully above the carpet of yellow poppies.  In the reference photo, I noticed other tiny flowers on the ground as well, which I decided to edit out.  I think I captured in the new painting the atmosphere of springtime in the woods.  What do you say?

"Woodland Poppies in Spring Woods" (oil, 20" x 16")
sold