Oakleaf Hydrangeas Painting #45

     Love the colors on these oakleaf hydrangea blossoms.  Paired here with some pale pink roses..... HOT HOT HOT DAY today.... hottest day in St. Louis since 1931 !

Coneflowers Painting #44

SOLD 

I'm having such fun with the daisies and coneflowers, and they are right at my fingertips, out past the front door.... fun....

Buff and Trisha Painting #33

     Funny that's the number of this painting.  It's my daughter and our former next door neighbor, who grew up together since age two.  They are now 33, turning 34 this year !  Here's a picture of the two of them at the new Crystal Bridges art museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.

     Tracey is in school in Fayetteville Arkansas, and will graduate with a masters degree in English education this semester.  She's worked so hard and this degree will compliment her photo-journalism degree from MU.  She got to reconnect with her old buddy this year, which is a joy that most people don't get to do.  
     We're so proud of you, Buffy !

Tomorrow I'll re-evaluate and maybe put a few finishing touches on this !

Day Two Hundred Thirty One

'Backyard Rhododendron"

6 x 6 oil on panel
75.00 + 6.00 s + h

Thought this blossom was so pretty out in my backyard. The bush is fuller with blooms this year than I ever remember in the past.
Had fun with family at the annual Laumeier Art Show for Mother's Day. Hope everyone had fun with their families !

Day Two Hundred Thirty

'Succulent'

6 x 6 oil on panel
75.00 + 6.00 s + h

I've been buying so many special plants for the pots on my deck.... I love to have it look good, but it costs a bundle ! I bought this little one to plant with my jade plant that I painted awhile back. I brought it in and thought I'd try it. It was fun to paint, with all the subtly of values...

Day Two Hundred Twenty Nine

'Cyclamen'

8 x 8 oil on panel
95.00 + 6.00 s + h

I don't know what possesses me sometimes. this was the hardest flower I've ever done. It has so little definition, and it is so unusual shaped that it's hard to make it believable. Yet I try... ha ha !
It did like the end result though. Something about the overall shape of the stem and it's relationship to the flower. Love that pink, too !!!
Brenda, I got some permanent rose, and I'm dying to try it... Winson Newton color, right?

Day Two Hundred Twenty Eight

'Front Yard Mix'

8 x 8 oil on panel
95.00 + 6.00 s + h

This is all that remains of my tulips. The other blooms are from a couple of bushes I found on sale at the end of last season. I can't remember what they were, but they had originally been priced at 18.99, and I found them for .50 each. !! Possibly my best bargain EVER ! tee hee !!!

Day Two Hundred Twenty Seven

'Kissin' Cousins'

6 x 6 oil on panel
nfs

I decided it's hard to do much of a series of a perishable fruit ! ha ha ... Couldn't come up with enough variation, anyway !

Day Two Hundred Twenty Six

'Cozy Pears'

6 x 8 oil on panel
85.00 + 6.00 s + h

I've been wanting to try this striped towel ever since I saw Jean Townsend's blog. She always does such a wonderful job, her paintings and ideas are inspiring. Thanks, Jean... visit her blog, and check it out !
http://www.jean-townsend.blogspot.com

Day Two Hundred Twenty Five

'Pears One'

6 x 6 oil on panel
75.00 + 6.00 s + h

Bought some pears yesterday. Hard to find any with much 'character'-- cause I guess there are various varieties, and not all of them are so attractive. Anyhoo, I tried to use the Daily Paintwork challenge method from a few weeks back.... Mixing up a different color for each brushstroke. It's hard to make yourself do that, and not 'fuss' with it, of course. The bowl gave me fits anyway. trying to maintain the elliptical shapes and get the values right, too. I only did the challenge on the pears and the background.

Day Two Hundred Twenty Four

'Zinnias'

6 x 6 oil on panel
75.00 + 6.00 s + h

I found these at the Farmer's Market this morning. It was soooo cold, and I didn't have a jacket, so I had to look FAST, and there wasn't too much to work with... I was a little unsure, since these were such a deep maroon. I didn't know how well they'd read in the painting. I do like the resulting contrast, though.

Day Two Hundred Twenty Three

'Jagged Cut'

8 x 8 oil on panel
95.00 + 6.00 s + h

I set this up, started on it, had to leave to go observe the 2 student teachers I'm supervisor for, and came back. Went with friends to dinner and an art opening, and never got to finish the fabric part. this morning, finally finished it, could have done some other things, but HAD TO POST... do you know what I mean? Well, paintings always work better for me if I can do them in ONE sitting, the paint stays fresh, and the ideas remain fresh in my head, too. I'll have to work on painting folds of fabric... that Claudia Hammer has gotten it down with such perfection!!!! Love her work ! http://www.claudiahammer.blogspot.com

Day Two Hundred Twenty Two

'Primrose Lane'

6 x 6 oil on panel
75.00 + 6.00 s + h

Each flower has a different structure, as does each leaf. All the varieties out there, and they are just the common types. I never looked at them so closely, as now, when I'm trying to replicate them.

Day Two Hundred Twenty One

'Yellow-Orange Zinnias'

6 x 6 oil on panel
75.00 + 6.00 s + h

My lamp broke this morning... I loved that lamp. It was one where you could move it with two sections in ANY angle you need it... Also, the base was so heavy, it would never tip over... Oh Well, I had to make do with a little one I had on the counter in the breakfast room. It still gave me relatively the same view. I upped the wattage to 100 watts, though, and that was even better !

Day Two Hundred Twenty

'Friday Afternoon in New York'

8 x 8 oil on panel
95.00 + 6.00 s + h

This painting was the challenge for this weeks Daily Paintworks. It was different, and I liked doing it... it's certainly unlike painting my previous flowers... good to change it up !

Day Two Hundred Nineteen

'Zinnias inside...Rain outside...'

8 x 8 oil on panel
95.00 + 6.00 s + h

This rain will not go away. The only happy thing is the flowers that litter my studio. I started these this morning, then went to exercise, and to take stuff to the antique mall. I worked on them later, but wasn't sure if they were getting better or worse. You judge. I went from one large flower, to many small ones... the smaller ones are harder for me...

Day Two Hundred Seventeen

'Up Close and Personal'

8 x 8 oil on panel
95.00 + 6.00 s + h

I used to do close-ups of flowers back in the 90's... seems so long ago. I painted those on large, large canvases, though. At the time, I was getting my masters (an M.A.T.) at Webster University, in Webster Groves, Missouri. The M.A.T. is a Master's of Art in Teaching.... loved doing that. especially loved the painting, drawing, and photography classes !!

Day Two Hundred Sixteen

'Curly Tulips'

6 x 8 oil on panel
85.00 + 6.00 s + h

I started these last evening.... after American Idol...tee hee... Then, at about 3:00 or so, I was up, and couldn't get back to sleep~~~ so of course I got up to read, but painted instead. Finished the last bits at about 7:00am. What a schedule... Ridiculous, I know ! So good to be retired, and set your own time schedule !
These were on a different ground. I've tried using up the old paint on the palette, before I discard it, and just 'seeing what I get' to use for ground for future painting... fun !

Day Two Hundred Fifteen

'Peony Delight'

8 x 8 oil on panel
95.00 + 6.00 s + h

One reason I think that flowers of this type are so 'appreciated', by me, anyway, is because they only last for such a short time. The bush will bloom, and if they don't get rain damage, they will possible stay for almost a week.... then it's another year before you can enjoy them again....
Yesterday was my son's girlfriend's birthday. She's truly a special young lady !! I bought her her own 'Tree Peony' bush, so she can enjoy them each year the way I do !

Day Two Hundred Fourteen

'Tree Peony'

6 x 6 oil on panel
75.00 + 6.00 s + h

I ran outside to cut these, as it started to rain hard last night. The weather report claimed we could get baseball sized hail from all the storms that were coming, including tornados ! Luckily, we didn't get any damage here, but there were lots of people in the path of numerous bad storms with hail, rotating winds, and tornados.
I began to paint, and it was pretty late, so I thought I'd finish in the morning. By this morning, they looked completely different, because they had completely closed. With the light on them for awhile, I was able to finish the opened flower!
Hope everyone survived the bad weather in the midwest last evening !