Little Pink Roses

One morning my neighbor stopped by to give me two very small rose buds she had picked on her walk.  The rose buds had no leaves, just two inch stems.  I looked for a small container for them.  The best I could find was a glass bowl about four inches in diameter.  I put the bowl with the rose buds on my table and watched them for several days as they gradually opened up.  Each day I recorded their development with my camera.  I used the roses in full bloom for the painting above.

Lavender Daisies

This is another small painting.  The image dimensions are ten inches by fourteen inches.  Framed in silver it measures sixteen inches by twenty inches.  I have found that a small size does not necessarily mean it can be done quickly.  The daisies had many petals to be coaxed to life.

"Rose Parade"

Shortly after posting "A Rose Bouquet", I painted another composition of roses.  The source for the new rose painting was just a different view of the same Mother's Day bouquet. The roses in "Rose Parade" are in front of a large window facing a deck. They seem to be bobbing and preening in the bright sunny day.

Rose Bouquet

The source for this painting was last year's Mother's Day bouquet.  It was a large arrangement with a variety of different colored roses.  I took many photos with different angles and different lighting.  I chose a small portion of one of the images and cropped what I wanted to paint.  As usual, I enlarged the image using a grid and drew a full- sized image.  I love to draw, so this was a pleasure.  When the drawing satisfied me, I transferred the image to 300 pound Fabriano Artistico watercolor.  I like to use soft press, especially for flowers.  I used mutiple light washes to get the hues and values I wanted.  No resist was used, only transparent watercolor pigment,water, and brushes.  The image measures 20 inches by 14 inches.  The framed painting is 28 inches by 22 inches,

Totally Transparent Watercolor Award

I am a member of the Tennessee Watercolor Society.  In 2006 I saw the biennial exhibit of TnWS and knew that this was the group I wanted to join.  The paintings I saw in that show were the best I had seen in Tennessee.  TnWS has five chapters and presents an exhibition every two years, hosted by one of the chapters.  I have had paintings in every show since I became a member: 2008 in Knoxville; 2010 in Chattanooga; 2012 in Memphis; and 2014 in Franklin, TN, hosted by the Nashville chapter.  In 2012 in Memphis I received my signature status, but had never earned an award.  This year in Franklin the juror, Pat Dews, awarded my painting "Dogwood Fall Foliage" the Totally Transparent Watercolor award.  I am happy and honored to have earned a place among artists I admire.

 

"Dogwood Fall Foliage"

28" x 20"

"Patterns of Light"

Last year the sunlight falling across some random items on a shelf caught my attention.  I saved that moment with my camera and later it became a painting.  The painting is shown on an earlier post.  This year I entered it in the Texas Watercolor Society Exhibition.  I was very pleased the juror, Judy Morris, selected it as an entry.  Perhaps she saw what I had seen, a special moment  in time as the sun created intriguing "Patterns of Light".  A few days ago I learned that it had earned a merchandise award in the Texas exhibition.

 

Sunflowers

Here are some bright, warm sunflowers to contrast with the dreary weather we have had this January and February. The painting was started several months ago, but was set aside unfinished. I enjoyed sketching the flowers. I turned them in different positions and experimented with several possible compositions before deciding to use this arrangement.