"Central Park Bethesda Fountain in Spring" (oil on linen; 8" x 8") sold

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Have you seen the Angel of the Waters on the Bethesda Fountain New York City's Central Park? It looks serene on an overcast spring day with magnolias in full bloom.

"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 Woods" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

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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.  I see a red bridge up a small stream.  Ah, what a wonderous place to be!  This is a real place--a Virgina 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.

"Primrose Season" (oil on canvas; 10" x 10") sold

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Siebold's primroses are blooming under a canopy of a tree.  What a bright, cheerful sight it is! Obviously it is not the primrose season yet.  I took the reference photo for the painting last April at the Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA.  It took almost a year to get around to paint these lovely flowers because I was intimidated by the look of the lettuce-like leaves.  Yes, I often get stymied by my own timidity!

Yesterday I decided to go for it.  Why not?  I am pleased with the result.  I am even more pleased with the fact that I painted on a day that started out rather lousily.  I had waken up feeling tired and achy.  I was tempted to take a day off.  In the end, I thought better of it and started painting.  And it happened again.  Almost immediately I felt more energetic and alive.  I really don't know how I lived before I discovered art.

Reference photo

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

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Pear and apple trees are blooming at an orchard.  In the distance, tall, budding trees look pinkish.  There is so much hope and anticipation in the air.  I love this time of the year!

"Cherry Blossom Tunnel" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

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I was driving in my neighborhood on a beautiful spring day.  I saw these double cherries in full bloom.  I went back to my house to grab my camera and returned to the scene.  When I pulled over to take pictures on the sidewalk, it was even more enchanting than I imagined.  A cherry blossom tunnel!

"Tidal Basin in Cherry Blossom Season" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

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The Tidal Basin during the National Cherry Blossom Festival in early spring is the mecca for tourists.  In this painting, I nestled the famous Jefferson Memorial in a circle of cherry branches.

"Pink Peony Garden" (oil on linen; 7" x 7") sold

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Peonies are, in my opinion, one of the most joyous flowers.  The flowers captured in my painting have just started opening.  They will keep unfurling until the heads become so heavy that they will droop to the ground.  Such abundance, such profusion, such lavishness!

This fits my current mood too, as I continue to recover from shingles and feel like myself again despite the throbbing pain that comes back at night.  The weather in northern Virginia has been unseasonably mild.  The potted geraniums out by my front door are still blooming.  I am in a mild state of spring fever!  In last December I was in the mood for painting autumnal and snow scenes.  Not anymore.  I want to paint spring flowers!

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

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I know that "Joyous Peony Bouquet" is not exactly a seasonal painting except that these pink peonies from my garden have always brought me a great joy and that I painted them joyously!

"Cherry Blossoms Cascading" (oil on stretched linen; 30" x 20")

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Before

Reference photo

I painted "Cherry Blossoms Cascading" in Diane Tesler's class last year.  Diane is one of my favorite art teachers who taught me many things from how to stretch canvas to how to paint practically everything.  She would come to the four-and-a-half-hour class before it stated, stayed through the lunch break (she didn't eat lunch herself to find more time for students), and never left until everybody cleared out.  I must say that she was the most dedicated teacher at the Art League School in Alexandria, VA.  Alas, she decided to retire and moved to Indiana this summer.  I will miss her.

Diane (in the center) at reception for her solo show in June

Diane is the kind of artists who see beauty in beat-up trucks and abandoned houses.  She paints soulful, gritty stuff, not fluffy pretty things like cherry blossoms.  I had to wait for another teacher to show me how to paint cherry blossoms.  It was Bobbi Pratte who told me to find darks to bring out lights in cherry blossoms.  "Cherry Blossom Festival at Tidal Basin" was done without her help, but the idea of keeping dark the blossoms in the shadow at the top of the picture was straight from her lesson.  The painting got sold right away at a gallery, so I must have done something right.

"Cherry Blossom Festival at Tidal Basin"
(oil, 14 "x 11")
sold

This week I brought down "Cherry Blossoms Cascading" that had been languishing in my office upstairs to give it a major makeover.  Can you tell what I did?  I strengthened the sky first, then went to work to make cherry blossoms come to life.  Now the painting hangs in the family room so that all who come to my house can see it!

I am grateful to all my art teachers.  They may have different painting styles and teaching methods, but I learn valuable lessons from every single one of them.

"First Snowdrops" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

sold

Reference photo

I did it!  Instead of sitting on a nice photo forever, I made a painting out of it right away.  Aren't you proud of me?  As I mentioned in an earlier entry, I took the above picture last Sunday.  The first sighting of these delicate white flowers always signals the imminent arrival of spring.  However, the joy has been considerably marred by the unseasonably warm weather we've been "blessed" with this winter.  Today's forecast in northern Virginia is in the upper 60's! 

Some people are basking in the warmth; others hate it, sad at the want of the fluffy snow.  I happen to live with two of the latter.  I don't mind the spring-like temperature.  But I am sore at the missed opportunity to paint snow on location as my plein-air friends had vowed to do so this winter.  Oh, well.

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

"Spring Bouquet"
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"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?

"Cherry Blossom Season" (oil on linen; 8" x 12") sold

"Cherry Blossom Season"
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"Spring Song" (oil, 12" x 10")
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"Weeping Cherry Blooming" (oil, 12" x 9")
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Cherry trees got to be the most seductive trees in the world.  Look at "Cherry Blossom Season," my most recent painting of cherry trees in full bloom.  Trunks and branches twist in all directions.  Not all cherry trees behave this way, of course.  Some have straight limbs, like those featured in "Spring Song."  The weeping variety in "Weeping Cherry Blooming" looks like cascading pink waterfalls. 

In all varieties, the fluffy clusters of pale pink flowers drape the trees top to bottom in early spring.  They all look like ballerinas in pink gossamer tutus.  Innocent and intoxicating at the same time.  Stand under their pink umbrellas.  You are transported to a pink heaven.  When they are spent, petals drift down like pink snow.  If there is a breeze, you get caught in the midst of a pink blizzard.  No slow, ugly death for cherry blossoms.  From beginning to end, there is nothing uncool about cherry trees in season.

I am utterly seduced by the magic of cherry blossoms.  I keep painting them, trying to capture their exuberant, yet delicate, essence.  Someday I will succeed to my heart's content.

"Purple Irises" (oil on linen; 12" x 9") sold

"Purple Irises"
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"Purple Glory" (watercolor, 20" x 14")
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I have painted these majestic purple irises from my garden many times, but never get tired of them.  Sadly they died out.  So, in a way, the paintings are a reminder of the ephemeral nature of life.  "Purple Glory" had received the Best in Show award in the Potomac Valley Watercolorists Green Spring Show in 2007 and got sold in a solo show at the NIH in Bethesda, MD.

I missed the painting, so decided to do another version, this time in oil.  They are quite different, aren't they?  The watercolor version is bigger and more "detailed" or "refined" than "Purple Irises."  I paint oils in the alla prima way--that is, finish the painting in one session.  This method requires a truly full concentration, as each stroke matters.  There is an urgency and immediacy that cannot be achieved in the more traditional indirect painting method. 

You may prefer the watercolor painting, but as my aesthetics have evolved, it now feels too detached.  I don't feel the presence of the artist who worked furiously to get the irises just right.  As a watercolorist, I think, I was reluctant to reveal myself and get in the way of the viewer's appreciation of the subject.  What do you think?

"Rainy Day Garden" (oil on linen, 8" x 10") sold

sold

I woke up feeling tired; the weather forecast was 100% chance of rain.  I was really tempted to stay home and rest.  Being a good student that I am, I reluctantly packed my art gear and went to Sara Linda Poly's plein-air class, which met again at River Farm.  The place hosts many outdoor functions like weddings, so has a big tent, under which we can still paint and stay dry.

I wasn't motivated to paint at all today.  As I intend to go professional with my art, I remind myself when I am in one of these funky moods that you don't go to work because you don't feel like it.  I eventually settled down to paint the above scene.  It rained--it actually poured--in the middle of the painting session.  It was chilly and windy.  At one point, I had to go retrieve paper towels that had blown away. 

Then the sun came out.  By that time, the class, which was sparsely attended to begin with, was mostly gone.  Those few remaining, hardy souls had a beautiful, lush garden to all ourselves.  What fun it was!

"Garden Statue" (oil on linen; 12 x 12") sold; "Rose Arbor" (oil on linen; 8" x 10")

"Garden Statue"
sold

"Rose Arbor" (oil on linen, 8" x 10")
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River Farm in Alexandria, VA used to be owned by George Washington; it is now the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society.  It is also beloved by plein air painters who are welcomed to add the artistic touch to the already enchanting landscape.  Sara Linda Poly's plein air class met there yesterday on a perfect spring day.  I painted "Spring at River Farm" at my favorite spot, looking at the stone statue of a young faun (or satyr, as the ancient Greeks would have called it) through the red-brick pergolas.

As you can see, I have already painted the same scene from a different perspective. What was funny is that my friends also painted their favorite scenes they had painted before: Charlotte painted the white manor house as she did the last year and Alice painted the azaleas against trees likewise.  We seemed to be obsessing over the same thing all over again!  This is something on which psychologists can shed light. 

"Whiff of Spring" (watercolor, 20" x 14") sold

sold

In northern Virginia, where I live, the magnolia trees are budding now; by the next week, they will dot the sky with their noble flowers.  Whereas cherry blossoms are dainty and flirty, magnolia flowers are elegant and proper.  Magnolias are very popular in Korea; we even have a beautiful song about them.

This still life setup posed a major challenge.  All the props were white (or transparent); so was the backdrop.  The only colors were found in the branches and the faint pink magnolia buds.  The shadows lacked colors as well.  All purity and Oriental.  So I had to make up colors.  Nothing overpowering, but subtle grays and mauves--just like an early spring day.  But there is a whiff of spring in the air.  It shows that although I am a colorist, I can also exercise restraint in my color choices when the occasion calls for.

"Dogwood Sky" (oil on linen, 11" x 14") sold

sold

Do you remember the old days when we used films for the cameras and brought them for development to grocery stores and drugstores?  I am sure you have stacks of shoe boxes full of pictures that never made to the album we were supposed to work on rainy days.  They got forgotten and became history.  These days, we have megabytes of photos eating up our computer spaces and collecting virtual dust.  Facebook helps somewhat, but do you really look at your friends' album postings with care?

The other day I found a photo of my neighbor's dogwood flowering in an old box and decided put it to a good use.  Dogwoods are common where I live.  They are not yet blooming, but when they do, boy, they brighten up neighborhoods with their white and pink flowers.  I remember reading somewhere that they are a very old specie that was around the times of dinosaurs. 

Dogwood flowers, despite their prehistoric pedigree, have a contemporary sculptural look, which I like.  Against a cloudless blue sky, they are simply stunning.

"Pink Cherry Blossoms" (watercolor on paper; 5" x 7 1/2")

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A dusting of snow last night, and quite chilly today in northern Virginia.  More images of warmer days to cheer you on.  "Pink Cherry Blossoms" is another watercolor painting that was juried into the Small Works Show at The Art League in 2002.  I was busily uploading my old artwork on paper onto my website over the weekend, and kept finding these small paintings.  Perfect!