White Hydrangea

 

oil on panel, 11" x 14"

I rarely do still life paintings, but I came upon an early Matisse still life of flowers in a vase and felt compelled to do one.  

Black Beauties

 

oil on panel, 12" x 9"

I get the urge to paint flowers every year at this time.  Ah, springtime!

Floral Abstract of 8-17-2024

 

oil on canvasboard, 8" x 8"

This little freeform ditty was inspired by admiring a neighbor's garden this morning that contained multiple stalks of gorgeous Mexican sunflowers.  

Fragrant

 

oil on panel, 9" x 12"

This was an attempt to meld abstract and realist elements in a still life.  I was working from a bouquet of lilies on the kitchen table and didn't want to get too realistic but did want to suggest lilies.  More importantly, I wanted to convey their scent in pictorial form.  I'm already longing for spring.  Can you tell?

A Row of Roses

 

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is just another study in a series I'm doing of flowers in a vase, and again, mostly done with a palette knofe, just to refamiliarize myself with subject of still life, the least attempted of all my work. 

Aglow in the Dark

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

Here's another botanical study.  Just playing around here, trying to push the abstract and botanical elements together.

Peonies in a Mauve Vase

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

Continuing with this little burst of still life exploration that I'm going through, I'm trying to push more abstraction into the mix with the palette knife here.  I do like the warm textural effects of the background and the cool green foreground, but the mauve vase was what I was after.

Upon Reflection

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is a palette knife study in progress, about 95% done.  I rarely do still life paintings, but I'm pushing myself to do them now in a way that is more expressive than representative.  Still, it's all about color for me.

 

Black and Yellow Irises

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

Flower study.

Complementary Couple

acrylic on panel, 6" x 12"

This is the result of my desire to make a painting with the complementary pairing of reds and greens exclusively.  I chose these two red hollyhocks because they are among my favorites.

Asian Arrangement

oil on aluminum panel, 6" x 12"

Just having some fun here with a semi-abstract rendition of a short round green vase with pink and white flowers of an indeterminate genus. 

Persistence

 

oil on panel, 24" x 12"

I've gone as far as I can go for now on this painting of a stalk of black hollyhocks.  It may be done; then again, it may not.  Whenever I feel this way, it's best to step away.

Fifth Street Flowers

acrylic on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

The other day, I passed by a section of sidewalk on Fifth Street in Petaluma with the most amazing collection of wild flowers which inspired this floral study.  I may attempt another version, as I found the scene utterly enchanting.

Desert Flowers

 

oil on panel, 10" x 10"

This is a quick warmup painting for returning to oils after a long stretch of painting almost exclusively in acrylics.  Also a warmup for returning to landscapes, which I prefer to do in oil.

Flower Power II

 

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is a painting done strictly from my imagination.  I usually work either from life or a reference image; this was just me playing with color, as I love to do.  I did another one of these flower paintings from imagination in 2017, hence the title.  They're fun and satisfying, especially when I don't have a good chunk of time to devote to painting, which was the case these past two weeks.

Fleurescent

acrylic on canvas board, 12" x 12"

For this painting, I used no visual reference.  It started as an abstract idea, which evolved into a semi-abstract painting of flowers.  The idea I started with was to make a statement about Paris in color and shape.  When I think of Paris, I see mostly dark green and white stripes, and splashes of hot pink.  Voila!

White Roses by the Window

oil on panel, 24" x 24"

This painting of a bouquet of white roses from my garden was an attempt at partial abstraction.  I didn't want to fully define each flower, opting for a loose impression instead.  Color harmony and creating a sense of depth were the overriding concerns here, and I'm happy with the result.

In the Pink

oil on panel, 18" x 24"

Another experimental excursion introducing abstraction to representation, in baby steps.  I am just not very interested in photorealism as a painter.  I like to capture the essence of a thing, in this case tiny pansies, but once it's there, my attention turns to how far I can go in the direction of abstraction, without losing the essential "pansyness" that I find so alluring.  What if I did this to it?  What if I did that?  This painting was full of those moments, although truth be told, I could take that impulse much further than I did here.  But the time has come to step away from this one, call it done, and move on to the next challenge.  

Naked Ladies of Salmon Creek

oil on canvasboard, 10" x 8"

I took an impressionistic approach to this palette knife painting, which was done from a photo I had taken at Salmon Creek the other day.  Didn't have time to paint the scene on site, and by the time I get back there, those pink ladies will likely be gone.  I will get back there some day and paint whatever is there, as it is quite a lovely spot, just north of Bodega Bay.  Update 9/11/17:  I've been informed by someone in the know that these flowers not called Pink Ladies but are, in fact, Naked Ladies -- a far more catchy label, don't you think?  So, I hereby retitle my painting to more accurately describe this scene.  I stand corrected!

Flower Power

oil on canvasboard, 10" x 8"

Here's a colorful little composition using leftover paint from Falkland Barn.  I enjoy these little freeform experiments.  This one has grown on me over the last few days.