Hydrangeas and Pears

Hydrangeas and Pears    16x40   oil on canvas

This was a bit different for me....it was painted over a dark underpainting and built up.  I used more scumbling technique and less of the transparent colors that I normally work with.   Because of the dark underpainting the transparencies would not have worked the way I use them.  I needed the opacity to cover what was underneath.  

I posted a version earlier but decided it still needed some work.  It felt too dark and like the two halves weren't connected.  I added more lighter scumbling throughout and created a better "bridge" between the right and left side.  Because it is such a long and narrow canvas it needs a strong path to lead the eye all the way across that expanse and back again.  It has been a challenge...but fun!

Photographing this painting was almost as challenging!  Being rather large and with so much dark, it was difficult getting accurate color and detail without getting glare.  I think this version is pretty close (at least on my computer screen).

The second day into this painting I discovered that I had brought a stow away in on the flowers.  I'm not particularly fond of spiders, but I felt guilty because, here he was just minding his own business out-of-doors and suddenly his world is shaken and he is dumped somewhere he had no intention of going.  Hmmm...I let him be trying to decide what to do with him and the next morning (much to my dismay), he had disappeared.  The only thing worse than finding a spider in the house, is finding a spider in the house and then losing it!  I'll be feeling things crawling up my leg for days! lol

The Dragonfly

The Dragonfly  14x18 oil on linen

I have been having some fun adding the element of "little critters" to my recent paintings.  I've added a hummingbird to one, some butterflies to another and now a dragonfly...  It is like bringing a bit more of nature into the mix.  I really like it and will continue to work more on this path. 

 I know I'm a bit inexperienced at painting these things but I hope it will get a bit easier as I continue to do more of it. 

I hope you like the inclusion of these little bits of life!

While researching the dragonfly I learned some very interesting facts about them....did you know a Dragonfly can fly up to 35 mph?  They can hover for up to a minute and fly in any direction including backwards?  The government is studying the dragonfly because they believe them to be the best example for creating a flying drone!  Oh, and they also eat mosquitos!!  Certainly a creature worth admiring!