BIRD BATH • 36 inches x 24 inches • in progress
I decided to paint something from my own garden. Here's the view of our yard from my studio.
A couple of weeks ago my hibiscus plants were in full bloom, so I took several photos of them for this project. This is one of the photos I'm using as my painting reference. I am omitting the black Silt Fence in the background and making a few other compositional changes. Artist's perogative. 🙂
Here's my drawing on the canvas before I begin painting. What a mess! This is not going to be easy...
DAY ONE: I've got to start somewhere, so the top makes the most sense. Plus, the woods isn't quite as detailed as the flowers.
It's always slow-going in the beginning of a piece. On this day I finished the woods and got started on some shrubs.
DAY TWO: Once I got to the area with the Hostas, it definitely started getting more complicated.
There are so many pieces that make up all these plants...
It hurts my brain to paint all these leaves!
DAY THREE: Still painting Hostas. Sketching in the Hibiscus flowers with red paint.
I've finally gotten to the flowers. They are tricky, but also the fun part because they make the painting POP. I love how the red contrasts the lime green Hostas.
Flowers, leaves...
leaves, mulch...
flowers, leaves...
flowers, leaves, mulch.
I had to sit down and take a break. All this painting wears me out. Kind of like work.
I'm done for the day! I hear the cooks in the kitchen... I better go and help. 🙂
For the past several days I’ve been working on a painting called “bird bath.”
It’s going to be my entry into a competition held by the Greenville Master Gardener’s Association.
Their theme for the 2011 Garden Symposium is “Celebrating the Southern Garden: Places that Feed the Soul & Satisfy the Appetite.”
So this painting is my interpretation of that theme.
If they think my piece best represents their message, they’ll purchase this painting from me. It will then be used on the 2011 Symposium advertising posters and also the cover of the program. I think they then raffle it off as a fundraiser.
I was a vendor at their Symposium last February. My favorite thing about it (besides all the neat people I met) was how great the room smelled!
There were several nurseries selling blooming, fragrant bushes that day. I got to enjoy this all on a winter day in February… it was totally worth the trip!
