My momentary absence from the studio makes it seem like a good time to share some of the things that have provided some color and signs of hope during this annual thing called a spring/summer cold. We’ll break up further news about the dead layer with some more color!
Look at this. It’s enough to make a dyed in the wool horse painter think about doing a floral. Man!
The lady who presented this bit of God’s creation also gave me the bulb from which it grew. I have planted that rather ordinary looking tuber and hope to have something like this to look forward to next spring.
She also brought a selection of white iris, two different shades of lavender and one very uniquely colored purple and white iris, along with several huge, white peonies. The occasion was the opening reception for the current exhibit. We were attempting to provide some colorful centerpieces for the refreshment table but I’m afraid our flower arranging talents did no justice at all to the materials with which we had to work.
But I did take photographs of as many of these huge and inspiring blooms as I could and in a variety of settings and lighting. The iris shown here is just one of dozens of images. I’m just not sure where — or how! — to begin a painting with a subject as complex and delicate as this. All I can see right now is a larger-than-life painting that’s at least 16�20. It makes the rose I’m trying to paint look pretty simple, that’s for sure!
Neal added to the color last Tuesday with five red roses on the occasion of my birthday (the big 5-0…and I don’t mean Hawaii!). They’re starting to show their age now, a week later, but they are still very pretty.
This iris and those that follow were all part of the iris patch I found Sunday evening, May 24. Unlike the first irises I photographed, these are in their natural setting and in great light. It was a bright and clear evening with the sun getting low enough to provide some interesting backlighting, as well as great side light.
As much as the thought of capturing color in the Flemish technique appeals to me, the pale yellow or apricot colored irises were the ones that most drew my attention. The color is so delicate and lush at the same time.
Then again there’s this lovely lavender iris. The color isn’t quite as eye catching, but the shadows are and perhaps the play of light on the contours of the petals more than make up for the evenness of the color.
The lavender does show off nicely in a subtle sort of way against the sunlit greens of the background, too. The combination of full flower, wilted flower and new buds also presents an interesting compositional possibility.
This one is my favorite, though. The color is great, but so is the distance in the background (I can even see a horse grazing back there if I want to stick with the horse painter motif).
But it’s the backlighting that really makes this image sing. As soon as I saw it, I realized it was probably the best one of the bunch. Truth be told, this is the one that had me seeing larger than life floral paintings in my studio!
The home owner, a tuba playing friend of Neal’s and fellow member of the Senseney Music Wichita Community Band, said they had some brown iris in that bed, as well, but they were all gone. I would have loved to have seen those since I’m a huge fan of earth tones.
Not much painting is going on anywhere but in my head these days, but it is a lot of fun to play with these ideas until such a time as I can actual put brush into paint and get some actual painting started again. Lord willing, that will be soon.
©Copyright 2009 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.
