Pink Peonies

12 x 16 oil on gallery wrapped canvas

Since it is so gloomy and dark out today, thought I would try something with acrylics to see if I could brighten my mood and the day!  I haven't worked with acrylics much in the last few years and it is definitely a different feel to the mixing, blending, etc. plus the colors just seem more saturated. 

Proud Peony

24 x 20 oil on stretched canvas

What to name these????  Anyway, thought I would try something a little different to see how it went.  The stem was an afterthought - reference photo did not have one - but it looked like it was just floating on canvas, so I added it.  A little glare in the wet paint on lower right from window.  It's a beautiful, sunny day in Mississippi!

Blue Hydrangeas

 5 x 7 oil on linen panel

Back to painting today - first time in a week!  I love hydrangeas but they are bugaboos to paint - so many petals!!!!   Mine were beautiful this year but have lost most of their color and are either drying out or just greenish looking.  These were from earlier in the summer.

Delta Sunflower Fields

5 x 7 oil on canvas panel - SOLD

More sunflowers......but.....still trying to achieve looseness in what I see and paint.  

Field Aglow

8 x 10 oil on canvas panel - SOLD

This field of sunflowers is painted looser and more impressionistic than my earlier one - just going for the feel this go around.  

Field of Sunflowers

5 x 7 oil on canvas panel - SOLD

We have lots of sunflowers in Mississippi and I love them.   I have never attempted a field of them before - much different than an arrangement of them.  With all the yellow and green, it was a challenge to add more color.  I like the way the blue sky reflects off the green leaves and attempted to recreate that in this painting.

DPW Rose Challenge

 6 x 6 oil on gessobord

The Daily Paintworks Challenge for the week was this rose.   The photograph was posted on their website and each artist did their own rendition of it.  My personal favorites are the watercolor ones, they just have a delicate, more realistic look to them.  That being said.....this is my oil version - tough to do!  The petals were killers;  this rose was yellow in the middle transitioning to pale pink on the tips and in dramatic lighting!

Hydrangeas II

 12 x 16 oil on stretched canvas

Still working on painting hydrangeas.....and still haven't gotten it yet.  They are blooming so beautifully now, I wish I could capture their subtle color changes.

Hydrangea Practice

 5 x 7 oil on gessobord

The title says it all!  I need major practice on flowers - something I love but have difficulty painting.  I get hung up on all those little petals :(   Two summers ago I bought what I thought was an "old fashioned" hydrangea bush but in reality it was some sort of miniature hydrangea and it only has pink blooms with tiny clusters closely knitted together.  I really wanted the older version that I remember from my childhood  that has blue, purple and pink all on the same bush!

Encore

12 x 12 oil on stretched canvas

With the mild winter we had, I was pleased to see that my geranium from last summer made it!  I have always loved geraniums and love the red ones the best!  

Pink and Yellow Roses

9 x 12 oil on stretched canvas - SOLD

Another one of my earlier paintings - I just haven't been painting much lately.  Hopefully after the holidays I can get back in earnest.  This one didn't crop so well.  I had trouble propping it up on my front porch, it kept falling facedown!!!!  I plan on donating this painting to the St. Richard Catholic Church Hunger Banquet coming up in November.  I try to donate a painting to them each year as the proceeds go to organizations in our community, state and the world that feed the hungry.  

DPW Challenge - Blackeyed Susans

 5 x 7 oil on canvas board - SOLD

This is my submission for this week's Daily Paintworks Challenge.  We were to set up outside, 1 to 5 feet from some flowers on the ground and paint them in one session.  This is called en plein air.     Only 3 colors plus white could be used:  Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red Light and Ultramarine Blue and we had to complete it within an hour using only 3 brushes!  I was glad for the hour to be over because it was miserable outside with the humidity this morning.  I have never painted outside before and that's why - can't take the elements!  It was a great challenge though, not enough time to fuss with it too much, which is a good thing.