"Peonies and Coreopsis" (watercolor on paper; 8" x 8")

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Pink peonies and yellow coreopsis from my garden make a gorgeous bouquet! Below are the step-by-step pictures of "Peonies and Coreopsis". Is this the way I paint watercolors?  Not always.  I vary my approach depending on the subject matter; I sometimes paint the background first.  I don't think one suit fits all.

I started laying down the first layer.

Developing more flowers.

The bouquet is almost finished.

At this point, I decided to add another layer of glaze to the background.

"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!

"Azalea Shadows" (acrylic on canvas; 20" x 16")

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What would happen if I apply the same approach that I have been using for my watercolor florals on a white ground to the medium of acrylic that dries fast like watercolor?  That's exactly what I did with "Azalea Shadows".  I didn't want the ground to be chalky white so, guess what, I went "wild" with pink!

I arranged the azaleas from my garden to cast beautiful blue shadows. Can you find a butterfly shape in the shadow?  If you are looking for a happy painting, this is it!

Edges are all crisp, as in my watercolors.  I used to think that paintings with all hard edges are no good.  That is one of the reasons that I had stopped painting in watercolors.  Now that I have evolved and matured more as an artist, I don't have such an attitude.  Beauty in art comes in all different edges!

By the way, I took a flower arrangement class for a year at college; flower arrangement is a big deal in Korea and Japan.  I am wondering if my "floral education" is finally paying off!

"Spring Bouquet" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

"Spring Bouquet"
sold

"From Spring Garden" (oil, 12" x 12")
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I painted "From Spring Garden" last spring after having taken Robert A. Johnson's still life workshop, excited at the realization that I could paint floral still lifes in oil.  I picked out three favorite spring flowers from my garden, challenging myself with some with florets--lilac and hyacinth.  I did a few more still lifes, always tormented by the conflicted desire--shall I go outside to paint flowers on such a beautiful day or stay put in my studio to learn to set up and paint still lifes?  The pleasure of companionship of fellow plein-air painters usually won out.  By late fall, the pickings from my garden were slim. Japanese anemones were the best I could do; "White Japanese Anemone" was the result.

"White Japanese Anemone" (oil, 12" x 10")
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I love flowers with multiple tiny florets. Think lilac, cherry, hyacinth, hydrangea, etc. They are hard and intimidating to paint though.  It is funny that I used the word "intimidating."  How can anybody be intimidated by such small and lovely things?  But I do.  That is why I had printed out the reference photo for "Spring Bouquet" last spring, but never got around to paint from it.  The familiar delay tactics, if you know what I mean.

Spring is just around the corner in northern Virginia, with the temperature in the 50's day after day in late January!  I finally got inspired to paint "Spring Bouquet."  The setup on the kitchen table in front of a large window was backlit by the natural light from outside.  I got rid of the window panes and trees clearly visible in the picture, and painted the daffodil first.  After taking a deep breath, I began to paint gesturally the floret of hyacinth one by one.  It went surprisingly fast!  Many initial rough-edged brushstrokes were left alone to suggest movement.  After all, the hyacinths were alive and would have moved follwing light if I had painted them from life.  I let the painting dry a little, then refined the flowers and wobbly stems in the vase. How about that!  No reason to get stymied by flowers anymore.

I took a picture of snowdrops blooming in my garden yesterday.  Do you think I will paint them soon, or sit on the picture for a year?