Florals . . . playing with flowers

Painting flowers for over 25 years--in watercolors and oils has been pure delight. Generally my flower paintings are of fresh cut stems and blooms, or sometimes, of gifted bouquets. Below I've grouped some flower paintings according to the type of flower . . . hope to give you a sense of how many ways there are, for example, to paint a rose.

A couple of my most recent paintings . . .

Blueberries for Watercolor Class 5 x 7.5, watercolor, in collection of the artist

Shadow Shapes, White Rose8 x 10, watercolor

Roses Galore!

Across the years I frequently cut and bring into my studio, the last of the roses (at pruning time) and the first rose as spring unfolds . . . and of course, anytime of year in California is time to paint roses. Here are just a few.

My Favorite Scarf (the last of the roses)12 x 12, oil on canvas

First Rose for Carol 10 x 8, watercolor

Three White Roses 35 x 24, oil on canvas

Light & Shadow20 x 16, oil on canvas

A White Rose20 x 20, oil on canvas

Abstraction has not been my favorite form of art ... until I began abstracting roses.

I painted from the same white rose in different mediums and values. Notice the change in value shifts, e.g. extreme darks & lights vs use of all mid-tones. Find the one notched pedal in both paintings--and see how I shifted the rose, painting each from a different viewpoint. I had to take an image of this rose in order to manage this experiment. Looking further, you will see two more abstracted rose painting. I love playing a bit like Georgia O'Keeffe with my roses.

Abstracted White Rose12 x 12, oil on canvas, in collection of the artist

Abstracted White Rose12 x 9, watercolor

A White Rose, Abstract in Green20 x 16, oil on canvas, in collection of the artist

White Rose, Abstracted in Warm & Cool20 x 16, oil on canvas, in the collection of the artist

In the Pink, a White Rose10 x 8 watercolor

The White Rose, in Purple10 x 8, watercolor

A Rose & A Box10 x 18 oil on canvas

The Square Glass Vase (last of the roses) 12 x 16, oil on canvas

Last of the Roses, For My Sister16 x 20, watercolor

The Rose Bowl7 x 5, oil on canvas

My White Rose10 x 8, oil on canvas

Dried Tulip Whimsy9 x 7, oil on canvas, $135 (f) See Works for Sale

Petite Roses in Glass Vase12 x 12, oil on canvas

Daffodils . . . you have to paint the buds quickly. I brought Janet's daffodil buds into my studio and they kept popping open as I painted. Fun.

Daffodils for Scott10 x 8, watercolor, in collection of artist's family

Janet's Daffodils12 x 16, oil on canvas

Sweet Daffodil Buds5 x 7. oil on canvas

Transparent Pedals, a Study of Dried Daffodils11 x 14, watercolor, in collection of the family

California Poppies ... white & yellow

A favorite of mine, whether in the fields or in a garden at home.

Portrait of a White Poppywatercolor, 6 x 6

Poppy in Gold 8.5 x 5, watercolor on paper

Three Poppies11 x 14, oil on canvas

Supperbloom,California Poppies, Spring 201012 x 16, oil on canvas

California Poppy Fields, at Three Points(off The 5, on 138), Southern California24 x 36, oil on canvas

Chamisa yellow calls out to me, yet the structure itself provides great interest to my artist's eye.

Blowing in the Wind, Chamisa 24 x 30, India Ink & Brush on paper, in collection of the artist

Yellow Chamisasmall drawing, India Ink and brush on paper

Chamisa Glory, small watercolor

The painting, Morning Has Broken--the largest canvas I've painted to date. The painting was a commission in 2019 by First Congregational Church, Claremont, California and resides there as part of a refurbished, large entry hall to the church sanctuary.

Morning Has Broken, Study 1 24 x 24, oil on canvas

After painting Study I, I felt due to the size of the finished painting (4 feet square), I would need more sky. I tested my thinking by painting Study II ... and felt satisfied and ready to begin work the big canvas.

Morning Has Broken, Study II12 x 12, oil on canvas

My inspiration for Morning Has Broken was seeing this small patch of daisies at the Huntington Gardens, Pasadena, CA, spring of 2019--and I took this photo.

Morning Has Broken

48 x 48, oil on canvas, commissioned by First Congregational Church, UCC, Claremont, CA where it resides in the large entryway to the sanctuary.

Eleanor working in her studio on the large canvas for Morning Has Broken.

The joy of painting all kinds of flowers continues . . . including some honorees in a couple of competitions--one in Florida and another in Southern California.

Birds of Paradise36 x 48, oil on canvas Contemporary Masters, Artistic Eden IV, Pasadena, CA In the collection of the artist

My painting of this prominent area flower was selected for a competition, Contemporary Masters, Artistic Eden IV, and on view in the art gallery of the Pasadena Museum of Art and History, October 1, 2014 through January 11, 2015. This invitational, was jointly curated by galleries of the Pasadena Art Gallery Association, and focused on scenes from the San Gabriel Valley where I live. It was an honor to have a piece of my art work juried into this major show with paintings created by 80 nationally recognized representational artists.

Awarded Best of Show (below)

Mid-Florida Art Exhibit and Show, 2003

It was a marvelous experience to paint with over 100 Central Florida's artists and then to win this honor with my painting of an area lily pond.

George's Lily Pond 20 x 16, watercolorA man bought this painting before the awards were announced. When it won the ribbon for Best of Show, he came to congratulate me ... and then wanted to know if the price of the painting had just gone up?

And other lilies!

Calla Lily Sisters6 x 16, watercolor on paper

A Bundle of Lilies in All Their Beauty20 x 16, watercolor

Calla Lilies, 36 x 18, oil on canvas

Seven Beauties12 x 24, oil on canvas

Lily Kiss12 x 36, oil on canvas

Calla Lilies in the Window12 x 24

For years here in my Claremont garden by the house, I kept an iris patch, in honor of my mother who planted and cared for an iris bed beside her long driveway for 40 years. These four paintings, like any other flowers I paint, were painted from cut flowers brought into my art studio. Here are two very small, 4 x 6, watercolors of some of those blooms.

Iris in the Garden, at Pilgrim Place14 x 11, oil on canvas

Iris Lace8 x 10, oil on canvas

My Favorite Blue Iris18 x 36, oil on canvas

Camilla bushes are present here on the Pilgrim Place campus in Claremont. Enjoy these two, smaller watercolors . . . and a larger oil painting.

Five Beauties 12 x 12, oil on canvas

Magnolias!

Living in Southern California, and parts of Florida, I found these magnificent trees. In Kansas, where I grew up, we had a spring flowering tree we called a tulip tree with very similar flowers. Whether 'tulip' or magnolia trees, I'm grateful to live among them.

an oil painting of a flowering magnolia branch

A Stem of Beauty14 x 11, oil on canvas

A small watercolor painting of blooms from a flowering magnolia tree

Magnolia in Shadow10 x 8, watercolor on paper

Magnolia in the Sun 10 x 8. oil on canvas

Please do not tell my family (or friends!) that I stood on top of my car to cut this magnolia branch to take home and paint.

I love this composition. 20 x 16, oil on canvas

In Memory of Georgia20 x 16, oil on canvas

Magnolia Gold20 x 16, oil on canvas

Life Span of A Magnolia Bloom3 images, 8 x 10, oil on canvas

Orchids, hollyhocks, sunflowers,and hydrangeas ... and more

Shirley's Golden Orchids20 x 16, oil on canvas

To Honor Andrea's Graduation20 x 20, oil on canvas. The family of a young student I mentored for several years brought me this orchid one day and I still have it on my patio. Then I made this painting of their gift--and gave it to her when she graduated from high school.

An Orchid For the Teacher14 x 11, watercolorgift from my watercolor class one year

I Am A Sunflower 12 x 9, oil on canvas

SunflowerSmall India Ink & Brush painting

Sunflower Blue12 x 12, oil on canvas

Sunflower Power, 24 x 30, oil on canvas(see Works for Sale gallery)

High Key vs Low Key paintings--it's all about light and how the artist chooses to portray it in a painting.

Playing with Hydrangeas (below).

Here is an example of what is called a 'High Key' painting, where the values are shifted to the lighter end of light/dark continuum--where even the so-called 'darks' (which a fine painting generally requires) are kept in the mid-tone range.

These hydrangeas represent a painting that is painted largely in mid-values, very little of the extremes between dark and light values.

In this painting (in acrylic) you can see big value shifts, between strong lights and strong darks, This is a way to create drama. I saw this arrangement of five hydrangeas in a display at a flower shop, took a photo and made this painting from the digital image.

Here is an example (in watercolor) of what might be called 'Low Key' painting where you compress the range of lights and darks toward the darks. Notice the 'whites' here are not as white as the last painting we saw. A stronger example of low key would have the whites not quite this light but more in the mid-range. However, I love the drama here.