White Lilacs

-
(sorry for the glare)

Every year for the past few years I've tried to paint some lilacs when spring comes around. They're my favorite flower, and I just don't think anything smells better. But I'm biased. Growing up in Montana, the entire perimeter of my yard was made up of lilac bushes, and those blooming lilacs... heavenly!

The painting is sketchy and could probably be considered unfinished, but I feel like I've said what I wanted to say, so I'm just letting it rest here. Better quit while I'm ahead (or while the rendering still feels genuinely like me--sometimes if I keep going I start thinking too much and it gets overworked in a not-good way). Maybe I'll try to do some purple ones this week too if I get the chance :)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

April News

-
Image
I'll admit I've been less than diligent in caring for this blog lately, but it's for good reason--life! Life, for me, is always full of more to do than could ever be done. Maybe I have too many interests. Or maybe I'm too interested in the interests I do have. Whatever the reason, I'm always busy and rarely bored! Anyway, I'm happy to announce a few updates here for my handful of readers ;) 1) I've recently accepted a role as the Utah Ambassador for the Portrait Society of America. It's an organization I absolutely love being a part of. I look forward to becoming more involved with the Portrait Society as I act as liaison for a state full of incredible artists. 2) Although I may have seemed a little quiet in terms of production lately, it's because I've been working on a complex, multifigure commission that won't be released for public view until 2026. So... stay tuned for that one! 3) I'm painting full time now. Side gigs disbanded, I
Read more

Yellow is not a happy color.

-
Image
  6x6, 6x6, and 6x4" I've been trying to paint this poor yellow lily for the past few days--I'm not doing it justice. I've decided that yellow is just the most difficult color to paint. It's the shaded part of the petals that gets me... what  is  that color? Greenish? orangish? brownish? nothing-ish? Whatever that shaded stuff is, I'm not getting it. When you add black to yellow, it turns green. Blue, it turns green. Red, it turns orange/brown. So what is it? Probably something in between (or maybe a little of both). I'd like to figure this out, but today apparently isn't the day ;) On the first two, I had a white background, and on the third one went for a gray for contrast (and actually tried to paint it sight size--teeny tiny--thinking it might help me simplify all that yellow. and maybe it did. but still...). I've read it takes miles of canvas to make a good painter, and I certainly haven't filled miles yet, so it's fine. Mayb
Read more

June

-
Image
June really snuck up on me this year—but I’ve been making the most of the beautiful late spring weather/cooler temperatures to get outside and paint. It’s always a challenge to find the time during the summer months with the kids home from school, but they’re getting old enough to manage themselves for a little while and that’s nice. This lilac study was painted very quickly—I had only been painting 30-40 minutes when the park landscapers informed me they needed to plant a tree right where I was standing :) It’s always an adventure painting outdoors!
Read more