OSWOA - Showy Lady's Slipper 1

I started this painting a long time ago (see post on 09 December 2011) and recently came across it in a box of small paintings that needed to be completed.

First using cadmium yellow I put in the stamens and the little bit of yellow on one of the petals.

Next using French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I added more details to the petals with shading.

With alizarin crimson I added a little more colour to the pink areas of the flower.














Lastly using various mixtures of French ultramarine blue, Antwerp blue, raw sienna and aureolin I finished painting the leaves and stem.

If you would like more information about OSWOA please go to my post on 12 March 2010.

The OSWOA shown here is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 300lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $40.00 and sold unframed.

2016 Peterborough Garden Tour

Today Cindy, Norma and I set up our display at Griffins Greenhouse and Garden Centre at 3026 Lakefield Rd., Lakefield, Ontario.














We were set up near the back of the grounds under a tent in among the beautiful flowers and shrubbery, close to the gazebo and the pond.

An added attraction on the other side of the gazebo was a group of Highland dancers who performed throughout the day, which also attracted many people.














We were fortunate to have an overcast day with the temperature at 77F (25C), without humidity and a mild breeze.

While I was there I took many photographs of the plants and displays of flowers in pots, some which were the living parts of metal sculptures scattered throughout the property.












During the latter part of the afternoon we had an unexpected visitor, a painted turtle who came out from the marsh, walked across the road and came into the tent to visit and enjoy our art show.

When he turned to cross the road again, Cindy picked him up and set him in the pond so he wouldn't get run over by a passing vehicle. I think he will probably join the other turtles sunning themselves beside the guardian of the pond, a large metal crocodile.












The gardens are a delight with many hidden treasures to be found in and among the plants; gnomes, elves and cherubs peeking out from between plants, a hidden waterfall guarded by sculptures of snails, toads and butterflies.














Wonderful wood carving of bears, raccoons and birds watching you from their hiding places in the shade of a tree, or peeking out from shrubbery. These are just a few of the many things you will find and I recommend that you take the time to visit Griffins and be enchanted by their gardens. I know I was.

Petals Art Show at Art on Kent

Today I sat the morning shift for the Petals exhibition at Art on Kent in Lindsay, Ontario.

Normally, I sit for the last shift on Saturday on the closing day of the show; but tomorrow we are going to Toronto and taking Ron's mother out for supper for mothers' day.

I had three paintings in this show which features many lovely paintings and photographs of a wide variety of flowers, weeds and gardens.

If you have the opportunity, please drop by the show before it closes tomorrow at 3:00p.m.














It is well worth the drive to Lindsay.

Floral and Still Life Show

Today the Portrait class at KAGS was cancelled which due to the Gallery policy requires two people to sit the art show so Cindy and I were there together.

This made the afternoon go quickly as we discussed the upcoming shows, galleries we would like to visit and have an exhibit at in the future and the new art pieces we were painting.

I put in two paintings into this exhibit that had been shown at the Garden Show earlier this month.














We were pleased that a number of people came in to view the display which will run through to 05 May 2016.

If you have a chance please come out and view the show.

Flower Power 1 - A Work in Progress

It is another bright and sunny day with warm temperatures 77F (25C) but the humidity makes it feel like 85F (29.4C) which is still a nice summer day.

I decided to work on this piece that I had started quite a while ago (see posts on 09 May 2012 and 23 January 2014).

Using various yellows such as raw sienna, new gamboge and aureolin and painting in the negative, I gave a little more definition to some of the flower shapes.

Then with Antwerp blue and cobalt blue I tinted some of the off white flowers.

I darkened some of the red flowers with alizarin crimson.

Using cadmium yellow, new gamboge and raw sienna I painted in the stamens into the center of some of the flowers.

I will post this painting again once I have completed the yellow flowers in the middle sections of the floral arrangement.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and enjoy the artwork.

Water Lilies - A Work in Progress

After a cooler summer than normal, we are once again getting more of seasonal temperatures with today being 79F (26C) and with the humidity feeling more like 90F (32C). Small wonder I had the air conditioner on both ways for the trip to Toronto and back.

Although waiting for my daughter to see a specialist with a 2:30pm appointment and finally seeing him four hours later is a bit ridiculous, but fortunately the traffic was fairly light.














When I finally returned home I wanted to at least get a painting started. I sketched out a water lily and then applied liquid frisket to the edges so I could paint in the background.

I will post this painting once the background has been completed.

Daisies I - A Work in Progress

After working on yesterday's painting I thought it may be interesting if I did another as a companion piece with the taller daisies on the opposite side and who knows I may do a third one in the landscape orientation.

Once again I used masking tape as a resist to create the daisies where I wanted the white of the paper to show.

I used various mixtures of Antwerp blue, alizarin crimson, raw sienna, burnt sienna, new gamboge, Cerulean blue and French ultramarine blue for the under paint which was applied wet on dry paper.

I set this painting aside to dry and will post it again at a later date once I start to work on it in the negative.

Daisies - A Work in Progress

This is a painting I started earlier this year in a watercolour class with Emil Varga (see post on 05 March 2014).

The under painting was already completed with the basic growies and grasses and now it was time to add more details by painting in the negative which is a slow and thoughtful process.

I mixed various dark colours using Antwerp blue, French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, raw sienna, Cobalt blue, Payne's grey and alizarin crimson.

Using the blacks, browns, greens and purples I gradually added the dark grasses and growies and wove them in between and behind the existing grass shapes.

Sometimes this can be discouraging, when you spend a fair amount of time and at first it doesn't seem as though much has been accomplished. But the end result is usually well worth the effort.

I will post this piece at a later date once more work on this painting is completed.

Showy Lady's Slipper - A Work in Progress

The Lady's Slipper gets its name from the shape of its petals, which resembles a woman's shoe. It is also known in the USA as the moccasin flower.

The Cypripedium genus has over 40 Orchid species that are native to North America and can be found across much of continent in dry or moist forests, usually found under Oak, Red Maple or Pine trees. They bloom from late spring through early summer and should not be picked or transplanted, as they will rarely survive a change of habitat.













The delicate beauty of these flowers have made two of them become adopted as the state flower of Minnesota, which is the Showy Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium reginae)and the official provincial flower of Prince Edward Island which is the Pink Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium acaule).

The one shown here is the Showy Lady's Slipper which was considered Minnesota's state flower as far back as 1893, long before it was officially passed into law. In 1902 the Senate passed a resolution on 18 February 1902, naming the pink and white Lady Slipper (Cypripedium reginae), as Minnesota’s state flower.

I will post this painting at a later date once it has been completed.

Spring Bouquet

This is an original 7-1/2" x 10-1/2” framed watercolour painting.

I remember when my daughter, Christine was little would go out into the fields and bring me a bouquet of the weeds and wild flowers she would find.

Thank you to Mrs. Marsha Rennie of Lakefield, Ontario on her selection of this painting for her art collection.

I am now going to head out to paint with the Outdoor Painters' Group.

Trilliums - A Work in Progress

This is the first in a series of the Provincial Flowers of Canada.

The Trillium (Trilliium grandiflorum) was chosen as the provincial flower for Ontario in 1937. It is an official symbol of the Government of Ontario and is often used in heraldry in Canada. It also serves as the official wild flower for the state of Ohio.

These charming native woodland wildflowers are a harbinger of spring.

They start flowering for two to three weeks beginning in late April to mid May depending on local conditions.

The plant is most commonly found growing in rich deciduous or mixed upland temperate forests of eastern North America.

They're from southern Ontario, Canada in the north, east across to Nova Scotia, and south into the USA to the northernmost part of Georgia and west to Minnesota.

The simple elegance of these delightfully unusual single stemmed flowers, have a whorl of three leaves and single, large 2" - 4" (5cm - 10cm) three petal flower with slightly ruffled edges. They are white when they first bloom and often turn pink with age, making them one of the best-known and easily recognized wildflower.

I will post this painting at a later date when it is completed.

Wild Flowers - A Work in Progress

Today I wanted to do a little more work on this painting (see posting on 12 April 2010). Using various mixtures of burnt sienna, raw sienna, alizarin crimson, Antwerp blue and French ultramarine blue. I started on the seeds of the Curly Dock on the left side first and added some of the detail to a few of the many seeds that are there on each branch.

With a darker mixture of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna, I painted in the main stalk, some of the dead leaves and the tiny twigs that are at the end of the seed bundles.
















I added another Curly Dock into the background fairly loosely as it is behind most of the Queen Anne's Lace which is still masked out so I didn't have to worry about being careful to control the paint in order not to lose the "white".

I then started working on the Curly Dock on the right side of the painting, painting in the main stalk to join the areas of seeds together. Then I worked on the bottom area of the seed bundles putting in a little detail as before.

I still have to decide on where I want to place the golden rod and chicory in the paintings before I go too much further.

Wild Flowers - A Work in Progress

For this is the painting I masked out the areas where I wanted to keep the white of the Queen Anne's Lace and let it dry.

I use 300 lb. d'Arches watercolour paper and find that I do not have to stretch the paper when working wet on wet and it holds a fair amount of water allowing me plenty of time to apply my paint.















The background was created by applying pure colours first in French ultramarine blue, Antwerp blue and raw sienna. I use artists' quality Windsor & Newton watercolour paint.

As the paper begins to dry a little I put in upward strokes of mixtures of the two blues with the raw sienna to indicate background grasses. Using pure burnt sienna I indicated the areas I wanted to have some of the dark seed bundles. French ultramarine blue was added to the burnt sienna for the darker areas.

This painting was then set aside to dry.