Late Bloomer


A co-worker of mine approached me in August about doing a painting for her. "Flowers!" she said. "Bold, colorful flowers."
I thought flowers wouldn't be difficult: I've done boats, birds, a port, apples and pears. How hard could it be to paint flowers? I was so naive.
While I did have an art show and a project or two for fundraisers sprinkled in, it took me almost five months to finish this flower painting. I brought it to my co-worker and she loves it. In fact, everyone who saw it said it said I did a great job and that the flowers (I chose hydrangeas) were realistic and all of the colors were vivid and bold.
In the end, I really like it. I'm proud of how it turned out. I battled this painting and stopped working on it several times to keep myself from tossing the canvas onto the street. In the end, a simple suggestion from Kimberly saved this painting: add a vase.
I painted the vase, or pot, and eliminated a few of the low-hanging blooms. Suddenly the painting had an anchor and an object to redirect the eye from the overpowering mound of blooms.
I added texture, highlights and shadows to the vase to give it a rounded look. I was proud to put my name on it.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the colors in this painting. Hydrangea is my favorite plant, so this may be my favorite painting of yours. It would be a close call between this and the port. I am very impressed with your "late blooming" talent.

Kathleen McClintock said...

I knew you were talented, but this is wonderful.
Kathy
kathymac6@gmail.com

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