Delphinium
September 6, 2014 § Leave a comment
A new watercolor, size about 19″ x 24″ The summer has been just about perfect for growing good flowers of all kinds. I’ve always thought delphiniums were a horticultural tour de force, out of reach for all but the most skilled and ambitious gardeners. Some of the great beauties of the garden, however, so worth a try, since some nice plants appeared in a local nursery. Here is the result.
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?
Lilies
July 19, 2014 § 2 Comments
Spectacular lilies this year. Plus six weeks of bloom, who could ask for more? Ordering more lilies for next year.
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.”
Rex Begonia, Dutch Iris
May 17, 2014 § 1 Comment
Watercolor
22″x30″
Spring flowers plus indoor plants–a study in color contrasts, not what is usually on view in the garden at the same time.
Stargazer
May 13, 2014 § Leave a comment
Lilies are coming around again this year–many more to come in the next several weeks. Isn’t it interesting how plants come back year after year, the same in species, but each one a different individual? Many new paintings are now deep in the plants, growing every day toward full bloom.
Jonquils, Guinea Hen Flowers
May 11, 2014 § Leave a comment
Watercolor, 19″x25″
These guinea hen fritillaries are the among the most interesting flowers I’ve ever painted. They bloomed for several weeks, each flower lasting about 10 days. The checkered pattern of the petals is just amazing: makes you speculate about the working of DNA to create a checkered petal. They remind me of the poem in praise of “dappled things.”
Marcia Mitchell 