Collages of Spring Flowers

click here to buy a print

click here to buy a print

I am back!  What do you think of the collages of my spring flowers?  I used the free site called iPiccy.com.  Try it.  It's addictive!  The top collage doesn't show all the paintings I did for my "Spring Fever" series; the bottom one includes two additional floral paintings.  My personal preference is the top one.  How about you?

Both prints are available for purchase.  I will announce the painting to be given away tomorrow, so stay tuned!

"First Daffodils" (watercolor on paper; 6" x 8") sold

sold
matted size: 10" x 12"

March has such an unpredictable weather.  One day, it is a balmy day; people are out and about in T-shirts and shorts, basking in the sun.  The next day, it is breezy and chilly; it may snow too.  When I took the reference picture for the painting last week, my hands were freezing!

Daffodils uplifted the spirit of William Wordsworth two hundred years ago.  They will continue to work their magic until the end of the time.  I love daffodils.

"First Daffodils" is the 14th and the last of the "Spring Fever" paintings.  I could have done a few more, but I decided to stop before I start feeling burned out.  I may do another watercolor floral series later in the spring when I itch for watercolors again.  If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Lenten Rose" (watercolor on paper; 6" x 8") sold

sold
matted size: 10" x 12"

Lenten Rose, or hellebore, is a tough plant whose foliage stays green all winter, then starts blooming in late winter.  From its delicate appearance, however, I bet you wouldn't know it!  This is the first time I have ever painted lenten roses.  I have a feeling that it won't be the last.

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Peonies in Morning Light" (watercolor on paper; 7" x 7") sold

sold

"Peonies in Morning Light" was painted a little differently from my other watercolor paintings in "Spring Fever" series.  It had to do with the delicate pink peonies bathed in morning light.  If I had left the ground pure white, they would not have sung; instead, the painting would have looked anemic.  I first applied several layers of gradated washes on the background until I felt right, then I painted the subject.  I love the result!

"Wisteria Song" (watercolor on paper; 7" x 5") sold

sold

A graceful spray of wisteria with petite, late-blooming daffodils makes an exquisite spring bouquet.  What do you say?

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Dogwood and Scabiosa" (watercolor on paper; 9" x 7")

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matted size: 14" x 11"

The dogwood in the painting is the late-blooming variety with pointy petals.  Scabiosa is also called pincushion flowers.  One of the longest blooming perennials, pincushion flowers have old-fashioned charm, which I think complement the dogwood perfectly. They get their name from the shape of their flowers; don't you think they resemble little pincushions?

In case you are wondering, "Dogwood and Scabiosa" is the tenth in my "Spring Fever" series.  If you want to win a painting from the series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Tulip Bouquet" (watercolor on paper; 8" x 10")

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matted size: 12" x 14"

Although nothing beats the flowers from my own garden, I don't know what I would do without those from the florists during the dull months between the mid-fall and the early spring.  A dinner guest brought a bouquet of magenta tulips last month.  I was already planning on doing a series of watercolor florals, so I took some pictures in the kitchen, as it was too chilly to take the tender flowers outside.  They are long gone now, but they will live forever, now transformed into an artwork!

There are two bouquets in this painting: one of the flowers and the other of the shadows.  It has an unusual, compact design with the flowers and shadows melting into each other.  Kind of tricky to pull it off, but it seems to work, don't you agree?

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Purple Iris and Lady's Mantle" (watercolor on paper; 8" x 8") sold

sold

Purple irises with lady's mantle and scabiosa (pincushion flower) cast lovely shadows on a white ground.  Did you notice how expressive the shadows in my watercolor florals are?  I love them!  By the way, it's turning out to be extremely tricky to photograph these paintings.  These days I seem to be spending hours retaking and Photoshopping pictures.  The cerulean blue shadow on the right should be purple!

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Double Cherry Blossoms" (watercolor on paper; 7" x 9") sold

sold
matted size: 11 x 13"

The first stage: the first wash of blossoms done; the group of leaves on the left finished.

The second stage: the leaves are done; several layers of washes on the blossoms are being applied.

The third stage: the flowers finished!

The fourth stage: painting the vase is my favorite part.

The fifth stage: painting the shadows goes fast, but it's the most nerve-wrecking stage. If I ruin it, there is no going back. I have to redo the whole thing all over again!

The other day I mentioned how controlled and time-consuming the execution of my watercolor paintings is.  I took some step-by-step pictures to show you what I mean. This small painting, without including drawing,  took about three hours!  I should really raise the prices for my watercolors!

After I "finished" the painting, I put it aside overnight because something was bothering me.  On the following day, I strengthened the group of leaves on the left, while leaving the smaller group on the right alone so that it would recede.  Don't you think this minor adjustment helped the painting tremendously?

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Pansy Posy" (watercolor on paper; 6" x 6") sold

sold

I knew that, after I drew in the pansies, vase, and shadows, I had a small, but fabulous, painting in the making.  Honestly, I didn't think much of it when I was taking pictures of the still life.  Yes, I work from photos for my watercolor florals.  It's better for my sanity that way!  And, as you may have noticed, most flowers that I have painted so far are not blooming yet.  Old pictures came to the rescue.  When you have a serious spring fever, you can't wait for the flowers, can you?

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Bleeding Heart in Green Vase" (watercolor on paper; 7" x 7")

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matted size: 12" x 12"

The bleeding heart is all curves: the heart-shaped flowers, the arched stem they dangle from, and the palmated leaves.  You can't see the coquettish green vase for this demure still life in its entirety, but I assure you that it is also all curves!

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"First Snowdrops" (oil on linen; 7" x 7") sold

sold

I first blocked in the mulched ground and flowers.

The delicate flowers are now fully developed.

Snowdrops are one of the first flowers to bloom in early spring. I took the reference photo for the painting on February 12, and that was a few days after I spotted them in my garden.  That's pretty early!  I painted the snowdrops in oil, because I thought they wouldn't show at all against the white of the watercolor paper.

As you can see, I posted two step-by-step pictures.  After the second stage, the rest--the spiky leaves and a suggestion of the mulch--went pretty fast.  Very relaxing after working for a few days in watercolors, which require a methodical, time-consuming approach!

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Scent of Lilac" (watercolor on paper; 7" x 7") sold

sold

I love the scent of lilac.  We used to have three small lilac bushes: white, purple, and violet.  Only the white one is still alive.  As long as I have their photo or, even better, "Scent of Lilac," I will always have my lilacs in my heart.

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

By the way, I would like to thank everybody who took trouble to sign up for my email newsletter.  I had to make the difficult choice to pick just one person.  The lucky winner of "Sprinkled Chocolate Donut" is R. Meyer.  Congratulations!  R. Meyer, please contact me with your address.  I will ship the painting right away!

"Peony Love" (watercolor on paper; 9" x 7")

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matted size: 14" x 11"

Can you tell that I love peonies?  The fabulous spiky leaves that complement my beloved flowers so well belong to the spiderwort.

By the way, the bluish tint of the white ground is caused by the blue of the sky!  The beautiful shadows should be more purplish, but people have gone mad while trying to Photoshop a picture perfectly.  I've learned to let it go.

If you want to win a painting from my "Spring Fever" series at the end of the month, please sign in to follow my blog.  Thanks!

"Red Tulip Passion" (watercolor on paper; 7" x 7") sold

sold

Spring has always been my favorite season.  Although I live in northern Virginia, where there isn't really a bitter winter, I experience a serious case of spring fever at the beginning of every spring.  The first sighting of snowdrops and crocuses makes me go "crazy."  Pansies and lenten roses have been blooming for three weeks in my garden. I spotted dwarf irises a couple of days ago.  So it is natural and inevitable that the theme for my March Challenge should be "Spring Fever"!

To shake things up a bit, I have decided that my March paintings will be mostly watercolor florals.  Before I discovered oil, I used to be a watercolorist.  I've been told that my watercolors are gorgeous.  One of my "specialties" is the floral still life on a pure white background, such as "Red Tulip Passion."  The painting really pops out, doesn't it? I may throw in an oil painting every now and then, just because I can!