Flowering Passion

As I wandered past the local florist shop last summer, my eyes fell on a gorgeous burgandy Peony, It reminded me of a glass of  Merlot, rich and full and I knew from that moment this Peony had to feature in my next painting. I bought the  Peony and a beautiful pristine white one, along with a bottle of Merlot and full of excitement  I dashed home brimming with ideas of how I could portray these two magnificent blooms!


After many shots of the Peonies at various stages I drew my composition up on some very expensive stretched linen, set my Ipod to my classical playlist and I was away! Below is my work to date, I still have to strengthen a lot of the shadows on the white Peony.  If you look closely at the shadows you will see they consist of a myriad of colours, they are not just grey reflections. The shadows to the right of the white Peony reflect the background Peony adding a soft pink lustre to its petals.

Flowering Passion - oil on linen 1.10mtr x 1.10mtr- (work in progress)

Eddie, my mums  gardener came around today to cut my tiny lawn, he saw my work in progress sitting on the easel and said,  "I can almost smell those flowers".  Considering it was absolutely pouring with rain and a really grey day, to hear his comment was joy to my ears. If my paintings can brighten and cheer someone up on a dull day then I am achieving my purpose. Despite the painting unfinished he could still see its glory!

 

I love when people look deeply into my paintings.  First glance they may appear as flowers on a large scale but when the eye starts to wander many wonderful and surprising things can be seen. One friend suggested the Burgandy Peony hiding in the background above was gently pushing the white Peony into the limelight.

Before I leave my blog tonight, gosh its almost 2am and only my first blog, but I want to just let you see one of my paintings hanging on my wall.  This is a beautiful white Rose I have called "Serenity".  The blue hydrangeas on my Korean cabinet were plucked from my mothers garden and delighted me with their presence for more than two weeks.  They say if you add a pinch of sugar to your vase and change the water regularly, your blooms will last and these certainly did.

The painting above is smaller than my usual work (80cm x 80cm). However, this bloom deserved to stand alone and display its beautiful layered petals through the Dutch Femish technique of the old masters.  I was so happy with the outcome that I have kept this painting in my own collection.  The Flemish technique allows for the wonderful 3D effect that cannot be achieved by painting colour directly onto a white canvas.

Please dont forget to visit next week when I will be showcasing my Peonies painting completed and hanging. I always hang my paintings in my own home so that I can enjoy my hard work before I loose the piece to its new owner.