Office Floral Arrangements

The ideas keep comming

It's kind of fun to see all of these projects together. The same idea tried on canvas panel, wood and paper. It's hard to pick a favorite.

Here's a close view of the roses. There's a completely different feel to the same design between paint and pencil.

 I'm wondering where the designs and ideas will take us next.

Before and After with colored pencil and ink

Waiting for the garden

I opted for a more neutral background so that all the color and interest will come from the flowers themselves. From the height of the snowbanks along the driveway and street here the garden feels like a long way off. I'm taking this time to order the seeds and plants I'll be using and working on the backgrounds for this seasons paintings. From the looks of these photos I need to add some other blues to my paintbox so there's lots to do while I wait for the flowers.

Falling into the background

I got a phone call while I was working on this from a gal wondering why I hadn't been answering the phone. It was difficult to explain that when I'm really "into" a painting, I'm not home. I've gone somewhere else and I don't want to come back.

Once I'd finished the vase, I was free to relax and enjoy the colors without worrying about where they were going. Getting distracted blew the mood and I'm not sure if I'll ever get back there. It's hard to explain to the rest of the world and I've decided not to try anymore beyond what I write here. We all experience art in our own way or simply refuse to experience it at all, it's not my job to explain it.

Painting the vase

My next step will be to put a darker glaze over the flowers in the design to make it look more like the actual vase.

Paint the things you love

My sister made this vase. Adding it to my painting is a way to keep it and to share it at the same time.

Six things to know about a blank canvas

 Things to remember about a blank canvas:
1. It's only canvas and wood, nothing to be afraid of.
2. It works for you and will become whatever you make of it.
3.  It doesn't matter how or where you start.
4. It doesn't matter what tools you use.
5. It doesn't matter what type or colors of paint you use.
6. all that matters is that you start the journey and see where it takes you.

I like to grab the first few tubes of paint in my box, just grab, don't choose and Yes, I start applying it with my hands. In this case I started with  the 4 dark corners and lighter colors to the center thinking that I may want some backgrounds ready for floral paintings when the flowers start blooming again.

At this point I start using brushes and palette knives to knock off any high points or deep ridges and begin to smooth things out a bit.

This will be the direction the canvas will go when it's eventually filled with a vase of flowers. It's got a long way to go before it will be ready but the important thing is that it's off to a good start.

The Second Easter Dala Horse Design

The beauty of this design is that it's basically lines and dots so almost anyone would be able to do it
.

What I love about the new design

The first horse went so well and I was having so much fun with the idea that I thought I'd try another one with fewer, larger eggs to see how many other designs I could come up with.

Easter Eggs Dala Horse

Easter Eggs painted on wood

Fun with computers

Computer altered image

Detail view of original painting

Catalog clippings inspire Dala horse designs

These clippings were designs on dishes in a cooking catalog. Pasting them up like this helps me keep track of the sorts of designs I hope to pursue in the future and shows me what I was planning to do with them.

When I've got time I'll begin by tracing the shape of the horse on to another sheet of paper and beginning to draw or paint some of the designs from the clippings in the actual shapes, sizes and locations that I would want them to be when painted on the wooden horses.

In the meantime I'll pack them away and move back to the other projects in progress here.

Creative Letter paper

Yes, I'm still "playing" with the junk mail, tape and colored pencils to make some fun mail.