Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Poppies and Peonies


This commission was a dream - peonies and poppies in shades of salmon pink. Everything is so pretty - I couldn't go wrong. But the challenge was to bring interest, texture and strength of shapes. I also kept the brush work spontaneous for a light hearted and expressive feeling. For variety I used both silver (aluminum) leaf and gold composite leaf and the canvas is a lightweight wrinkled cotton that adds texture too. This painting is four feet across. Thanks Katherine for asking for this fun painting.






Monday, August 24, 2015

Olive Dreams of Paris


Some wonderful clients supported my desire to paint an unstretched canvas that hangs in folds like a curtain. This emphasizes the silver leaf in a more fun way that a flat surface. The request was for a painting of cherry blossom and the Eiffel Tower so I created an environment that looks like my client's dog, Olive, is dreaming of walking the streets of Paris in spring. This curtain will hang in a young girl's bedroom and she visited the studio several times to help me paint the piece.