"Pink Peonies Bursting" (oil on linen; 14" x 11") sold

sold

All spring I wait for my pink peonies to bloom.  Actually, peonies don't bloom.  They burst!  It has been an unusually cool spring in the Mid-Atlantic region this year, so they just started blooming in my garden.  I took some pictures on Tuesday and proceeded to paint my darling peonies.  Unfortunately, the last two days were full of distractions and family duties to fulfill.  After many disruptions, I managed to finish "Pink Peonies Bursting."

Reference photo

I must say that I have never painted peonies like this.  The workshop with Gregory Packard is rubbing off on me!  The biggest compositional challenge was how to handle the table, which bisects the picture so rudely.  I rounded and lowered it.  Please tell me that I did the right thing!  I am going to paint a few more peony paintings because I just can't get enough of these flowers.

"Poppy Field" (oil on linen; 5" x 7") sold

sold

Reference photo

Poppies at Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA

Sometimes the subject matter is fairly easy to paint.  It is the background that causes problem.  As you can see in the reference photo, I had to be creative with the bottom part of the "poppy field," which was not exactly a field of red poppies bobbing romantically.

After several scrapes, I came up with the finished painting, which has the red-green compliment colors as the dominant color scheme.  The violets in the background were inspired by the deep violet heart of the flowers. I didn't start the painting with this color scheme in mind.  I stumbled into it!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

"Spring Garden" (oil on linen; 12" x 12")

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This beautiful and inviting front garden bursts with spring flowers: azaleas, irises, daisies, etc. Red poppies bloom on the painted mailbox perched on a tree stump. In the back I can see a pergola for grape vines. Wouldn't you like to walk up the stairs to look around?

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

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Reference photo

All this talk of grays got to me.  I decided to go crazy and do something wild.  What if I use cadmium red straight out of the tube to contrast with the grays on the white iris blooming in my neighborhood?  How do you like my wild painting?

"Spring Creek" (oil on linen; 12" x 12")

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"Spring Creek" half finished

Reference photo

Last Friday was the last day of Gregory Packard's workshop.  I was sneezing, headachy, and burning up with fever.  Besides, I had a two-hour drive back home on I-95 to deal with.  I could have skipped the last session, but you know me better.  I pulled out a photo of Holmes Run running through Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA. Using the same palette as the day before, I painted "Spring Creek" quickly.  The grays have become a lot subtler in five days.  Even without darks and brights, the painting looked luminous.  Greg told me several times not to overwork the painting.

But Greg lives in Colorado and I am on my own now.  Ultimately, I am the one who has to live with the painting.  It looked chalky and unfinished.  So I got to work.  Please don't tell me I ruined it!

What did I learn in Greg's workshop?  I learned a lot about color harmony.  The whole point of mixing piles of grays with a limited palette is to ensure that all the colors in the painting are related to each other.  The predominance of grays--muted, grayed down colors--allows the bright colors to sing.  I am finally beginning to understand what Kevin Macpherson says in his two books.

During the workshop, I also experienced the southern hospitality firsthand.  After the plein-air painting session last Thursday, I was packing up to head back to the hotel.  A local artist whom I met a couple of days ago asked me if I would like to come to her house for a drink.  Of course!  After a nice cold beer on her deck, she asked me to stay for dinner.  After a delicious dinner her husband had prepared, she suggested a walk in the neighborhood park.  Wow.  I made a good friend that day.

The workshop organizers of the Richmond Art Workshops too went out of their way to make the workshop experience memorable.  After the Wednesday sessions, they took us to Laraze Gallery in Charles City, VA, about 45 minutes from Bon Air, VA.  This premier, privately-owned, gallery offers a breath-taking view of the James River.  Once you step inside, you are whisked away to the world of the Russian/Soviet Impressionist art.  You know what?  We were amazed to see how many paintings were made beautiful by the wondrous grays.

The view of the James River from the grounds of the Wurdeman family estate

Kathy Wurdeman on the right greeting us in the main level of Lazare Gallery

The upper level of Lazare Gallery

"Fine Creek Morning" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

sold

On the fourth day of Gregory Packard's workshop, which was last Thursday, the sun has returned to Richmond, VA.  The workshop organizers had kindly arranged a plein-air painting opportunity for us.  Following our fearless leader, Greg, we trekked for half an hour to the Mill at Fine Creek in Powhatan, VA. Yes, there were the romantic mill ruins, which have become an outdoor dining area and wedding venue.  But the real surprise was the creek itself.  The name apparently comes from General Robert E. Lee, who said that it was a fine creek.  I have never seen anything like it in Virginia.  The entire creek bed was rocks!

The romantic mill ruins at Fine Creek

Fine Creek

Workshop participants painting away

I decided to paint a scene facing the other way.

"Fine Creek Morning" half finished 

There was no shortage of beautiful sceneries: garden flowers, quaint houses, the mill ruins, the creek, etc.  But I didn't feel motivated.  Shocking, isn't it?  Kim Stenberg, a painting addict, not motivated in such a stimulating environment?  I didn't know it at that time, but I was coming down with a bad cold.  So I took a picture of the above scene that caught my eye and seemed "easy" to paint.  Unfortunately, by the time I was finished setting up my easel (it takes at least 15 minutes to set up the outdoor oil painting gear), the sun disappeared for the rest of the morning!  It actually rained a bit. Dang.

Do you know what I, a sick puppy, did?  I painted the scene from the LCD screen of my camera and memory!  Greg wasn't terribly impressed with my efforts; I wasn't either. The biggest problem with the half-finished painting was the composition.  If you look at it carefully, it is divided into a series of rectangles.  What's up with that?

I called it quits (good for me!), had a sandwich lunch with my new friends, and successfully persuaded Greg into doing a plein-air-painting demo.  I even helped him to unload and carry his painting gear.  He said that he was rusty because he hadn't painted outside for a year.  Tough.

On Monday, I worked on "Fine Creek Morning," focusing on correcting the compositional error.  I am pleased with the final painting.  Please leave comments about what you think!

Print Giveaway!

"Purple Glory" (watercolor, 20" x 14"; sold)
click here to buy a print for $25

It is the middle of the month, not my usual time for a print giveaway.  But I wanted to have some fun.  I've ordered a 16" x 11" print of "Purple Glory" from my imagekind.com print shop and am going to give it away this weekend.  If you want to win the print, you have to do three things: like my Facebook fan page, like the post that announces the print giveaway, and leave a comment.  I will announce the winner on Facebook on Monday morning.  Good luck!