Peonies in a Vase

So fragile and delicate the peony is one of the most beautiful flowers....sadly they last such a very short time and with a hard rain...they are gone.

I wanted to capture these beauties before they were gone for another year.  I had a garage sale going on all day so I set my easel up and painted in my garage!  It was a little hard to stay focused but I got enough information about color and form to be able to complete the painting the next day even though the flowers were now wilted.

Peonies in a Vase   18x28  oil

A Single Peony

I had errands and appointments today so I only had a few hours in the afternoon to paint.  I decided to keep the subject simple to see what I'd be able to accomplish in one sitting.  It's hard for me to go back to a still life if the flowers are wilted, even if I've done the necessary work on the flowers.  It's hard to enjoy painting a still life with drooping flowers!  Some varieties will last for days when picked, but I knew this peony wasn't going to.  It was wilted by the time I was done today.

A Single Peony

oil    11x19

Peonies, Iris and Lilacs

Finally Flowers!

It's been a funny Spring...cold, then hot, then cold again...the flowers are late but the excessive rains are turning things into a jungle!

As things are looking right now it will probably be an extremely prolific year in the gardens.  I love the flowers....it is so satisfying to see them blooming again.

Peonies, Iris and Lilacs    oil   17x23

I tried a complimentary palette as suggested in the book "Yin and Yang of painting".  It was interesting.  I had a lot of fun.  This one is all created with tones of yellows and purples.  It's rather surprising what colors you can mix using those two basic color tones plus white and black.  I did push the purple a bit in using Quinacridone Rose, and I put just a little dab of ultramarine blue for the Irises "beard"....but otherwise it's just the limited palette.  I'm going to try this some more.