Thursday, February 13, 2014

I guess I'm a florist at heart

I'm thinking this is done. Probably.  It was a joy to be painting flowers again, and I enjoyed making up a leafy but not accurate background.  First time I ever painted a dewdrop, so that was fun.  One of my favorite new colors is the gray I get from a wash of  indigo, then a wash of any of a few different oranges. That's the lightest color you can see in the background.  I've already started another daylily.

Just got my order from Cheap Joe's with a restock of Arches, as well as two more gatorboards for stretching my (half-sheet) paper.  This way I can get as many as 8 sheets ready to go at a time.  Part of preparation for Kanuga, now only six weeks away!

I hope all you southerners have survived the most recent snowstorm with power and heat intact. I heard that Asheville, the closest city to Kanuga, got 15 inches of snow. I had been hoping to see Spring when I got there. Oh well.
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4 comments:

  1. Kathy WirthFebruary 14, 2014 at 6:03 AM

    This is lovely, Katherine. I do love the shapes in the background, but wonder if the flower could be a bit more integrated with it. What do you think about adding just a tiny bit of darker blue in the deepest center of the flower to balance with the background. It would not need to be much to do the trick.

    Interesting that you just bought Gator Boards for larger sheets. I have done the same!

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  2. Katherine HarraFebruary 14, 2014 at 6:23 AM

    Kathy, I think you are right. I often end up with two separate paintings, so to speak, a flower and a background. I could certainly get braver with the darks in the center. Do you think I should attempt to move any of the orange stamen color out into the background . . somehow? Splatters? (kidding about that, not my style . . . .). Maybe brighten a sliver or two of the gray sections with some more of the orange?

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  3. debwardartFebruary 14, 2014 at 10:32 AM

    Once again I pop in for my 2 cents worth: Kathy has the right idea - as do you - try a bit of both - I'd put some of the orange gently into some of the light background area that already has a bit of it in there. You are not just a florist at heart, but an artist at heart (and a very good one!) Wow, you are making me tired thinking of all of your prep work!

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    Replies
    1. Katherine HarraFebruary 14, 2014 at 11:12 AM

      I've darkened the throat of the blossom quite a bit today, and now will look at a way to 'spread' some orange outward. The darker blue went fine, looks okay. Fingers crossed for the orange, which now I really do think is needed. Maybe I should scatter some orange paper scraps around first to see where it might work best. Although I'm only going to be able to glaze anyway, no white left to work over.

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