Merry Christmas! 

The amaryllis flowers that I grow each year in the house during December always bring us so much enjoyment. I like them because we get to see how theyt grow like crazy out of the bulb.  The ones this year in the kitchen have been so beautiful with many buds and then the big flowers.  Somehow they appeal to me more than any other flower at this time of the year.

This is not a photograph!  I just realized that someone could think that it was a photo.  It is the watercolor painting that I did of one amaryllis flower.  The photo was taken last year at Christmas.  This is a large square painting in a black frame to blend into the black background .  It is 30 X 30 inches with an additional 3 inches for the frame.

I hope you enjoy looking at it.
Marilyn
12/23/2012

This painting was done this fall from the pictures that I took of Larry's artichoke plants.  The plants were so big that the top leaves touched the eaves on the house.  We let them get to this stage so that we could see the purple tops of the.  They were really rough textured so painted them on top of very rough collage paper.  It also is more unpredictable to paint on a collage surface because the paint travels along the fibers of the paper.  I like that it is not possible to know how it will turn out.  This is framed in a large heavy square frame in the studio.  It is a nice change from my usual garden flowers.

FALL PAINTINGS

Late Pears

Fall is such a wonderful time to do new paintings.  The colors are some of my favorites.  The watercolor class on Tuesday that meets here in the studio has done some nice projects as well.  We started with the pear paintings using a cadmium red background.  This project was done with pasting collage papers on the watercolor paper first and then drawing and painting on the pears.  My next two of these paintings just made a nice set of three.  All three of them are currently at River Gallery in Independence.

Yea!  Finally the giraffe has been finished.  This is another new twist for me.  I glued the water color painting to a canvas, trimmed the sides and finished the surface with a water proof treatment.  So, no glass needed and there is a nice shine on him.  He is hanging in the studio being admired.

Two new young ladies have also been added this month. On one of them, I wanted to do an old fashioned look with a secret garden feeling.  So, the bench and the rose garden and the stuffed animal were included.  I grayed down all of the clothing and the trellis behind her.

Then there is December's Child.  Painting with red is always fun.

Larry has planted some artichokes in our rose bed.  Who knows why but they grew so well there that they reached the eaves on the house.  We never got around to eating them but they are fantastic to photograph and to paint after they get the purple hats on their heads.  This painting was also done with some very rough collage paper glued to the paper first.  This one is also at River Gallery.

Summer Travel

Our trip in June has given me some great photo images to use in new paintings. I've wanted to paint windmills for a long time.  Inspiration comes often from admiring the masters and looking at these amazing machines in paintings that are very old. Painting landscapes has been difficult for me so this was a chance to learn some new things.  These are large paintings but I tried to not paint in more detail than was really needed.  What a wonderful way to spend time in the studio.

But, of course, I can't get into summer without doing some images from the garden. Not to mention the zebras with so many stripes that it made my eyes tired.

The paintings of Santorini are so much fun to look at.  That BLUE !!! 

Contact me through River Gallery in Independence to purchase any of these works.

Painting in Hawaii

Yellow Peony

Fragrant Peony

Tropical Buttercup

Hawaiian Wildlife

What a lovely place to paint!  The lanai where we stay becomes the studio.  This year I did a commission painting  for some friends as well as works from photos that were taken while there.  The chickens are free range and not at all tame.

The buttercup tree is a member of the Bombax family of trees.  It is the first one I have ever seen in Hawaii.  When there are flowers there are no leaves and when there are leaves on it there are no flowers.  It was about twelve feet tall and covered with huge yellow flowers and buds.  Amazing!!

These beautiful little dancers entertained people at a hotel near where we stay.  They take the dancing very seriously and concentrate completely on doing it just right. 

Welcome Spring!!

More Autumn Paintings

Autumn paintings

Catching Up

After a few days at the beach, I used my picture to try some paintings using acrylic paint.  This medium is really different from watercolor .  I found it to be more forgiving because the affect is caused by layering the paint on until the desired result happens.  The subject matter was fun with all of the people and dogs on the beach.