Thursday, April 8, 2010

Painting what I think I see...


Gloria's Bouquet
12 x 12
oil on wrapped canvas

Two subjects I think I know well but cannot seem to paint easily are flowers and landscapes. What ends up on the canvas is nothing like what sits before me and I have finally discovered that I have to focus very hard with my eyes on all the shapes, hues and values instead of letting my hand paint what my brain thinks the subject should look like. Now that spring is here I should get lots of practice. This beautiful bouquet was a gift to a very special friend who gave me a push to get back to the easel and I will be forever grateful for her support.

6 comments:

Marie Theron said...

A super bouquet,Barb! And I admire the way the rose comes forward and steal the show!

r garriott said...

It looks as though this flowed off the end of your paint brush! Lovely colors, and not stilted in the least. No struggles apparent here. You've really pulled it off.

L.Holm said...

I have exactly the SAME issue painting landscapes and batches of flowers. Information overload, and each bloom grows huge when I focus on it. I agree w/R. - no such struggles are evident here. Each bloom looks right in place and fits with the others. Great work!

Unknown said...

Oh thank you so much everyone! You are all too kind. I certainly enjoyed the process but still somehow the translation gets lost between my brain and the canvas. All good fun though!

Unknown said...

This is a beautiful bunch , lovely colours ,neat job

Unknown said...

Thank you Rishi - this one is still ongoing as I'm trying to calm the chaos!