Lady’s Slipper
June 25, 2015 § Leave a comment
The pink lady’s slipper, one of the markers of spring in the woods. This series of small watercolors, 7″ x 5″, was painted to benefit a small West Virginia educational foundation.
Rhododendron
June 24, 2015 § Leave a comment
Spring hikes through the mountains of West Virginia will usually discover large stands of rhododendrons like this one. They are a fine sight, though sometimes overwhelming in their size and strength. this is another in the series of small watercolors painted to benefit the Kump Education Center in Elkins WVA.
Jack in the Pulpit
June 24, 2015 § Leave a comment
The first in a group of seven small watercolors, 5″ x7″, of the wildflowers of West Virginia. These are painted to benefit a small educational foundation in WVA.
Cleome, Daisies
August 7, 2014 § Leave a comment
Watercolor
22″ x 30″
Watercolor paper at 22″ x 30″ is easy enough to find online. But larger sizes are difficult to locate, and it looks as though the only solution is to use a roll that comes in 10′ lengths. That ought to be big enough, at least!
Asters, Salvia
August 4, 2014 § 2 Comments
Watercolor
10″x14″
So many flowers, so little summer! With a big show coming up, I’m painting all day and all evening. That’s a pretty nice complaint to have, isn’t it?
Dogwoods and Azaleas
July 4, 2014 § 2 Comments
Watercolor
40″x30″
Dogwoods, that timeless favorite of spring, and azaleas, deserve lots of attention, and this spring I gave it to them. This a large painting for a watercolor, and painting at this size presents difficulties of many kinds. For instance, all the brushes need to be of different sizes than those used in “regular” watercolors, each image is larger and therefore the working area dries more slowly, and possibly unevenly. The number of flowers required to complete the planned painting is enormous. Many dogwood branches and azalea flowers went into creating this large painting, but, as Frida Kalho said, “I paint flowers so they will not die.”
Detail of Hellebores, Tulips
April 24, 2014 § 1 Comment
Late winter verging early Spring used to be a nothing time in the garden. Since the hybridizers started working on hellebores, things have changed. Except for the recent and unlamented harsh winter, we can now have the extraordinary beauty of hellebores, in clear new colors, as early as February. This is the first time I’ve painted these wonderful plants and flowers, but it won’t be the last. This photo shows only a detail of the full painting.
Marcia Mitchell 