Florals

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Magnolias and Morning Glories

As someone who pots new plants or re-pots old ones sitting on cement or the lawn, I have always dreamed about having a real potting bench. Instead of building one, I painted it! Bottles filled with lavender water romanticize the scene.

Potting Bench

Wild Roses

From the Heart

All my hydrangea paintings originate with my Nana's fabulous hydrangea bush which was visible from her outdoor, grapevine-covered eating area. The vase belonged to my other grandmother. So this painting, which is one of my favorites, is an homage to both my grandmothers. The original is my largest so far at 42 X 42.

Hydrangea

Elegant Tulip Tree

Kaleidoscope of Art

Agapanthus

Laughing Tulips

Life Is...Roses and Lemons - I adore and covet Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese ceramics. So I designed this pitcher and added some of my favorite flowers - roses, lilacs, daffodils, tulips, and lilies. Although I am not always successful growing them, at least I can immortalize them in my paintings! I actually dumped a bag of lemons out on a table while drawing and painting the scene to get it right and then decided to add the paper bag to the painting, too.

Life Is...Roses and Lemons

Some technical background on this painting: Each hue was applied from light to dark, applying the gutta after painting the lightest color. I was shown this technique by someone who had done wax batik and was trying to duplicate the method, in a sense, with gutta. I think it worked well, because the gutta resist lines are fairly invisible in the finished painting. Also, the dark, rich background color was achieved by combining the same two colors used in the painting: red and green

Red Ginger

Morning Glories

Colorful White Magnolia

Gardenia

I gathered up some gorgeous rhododendron blossoms in a vase one spring and saw the potential for a bright, colorful painting, just what dyes on silk do so well! Out came the sketch pad.

Rhodies

Tropical Bouquet - Along with most people, my eye is usually drawn to the colorful bloom of a plant. When I painted this, I wanted to showcase the beautiful leaves of tropical plants. But I couldn't resist adding the yellow lilies.

Tropical Bouquet

Lovely wild carnation

Wild Carnation