The Painting Spectrum - Thinking Pink

    I wonder if insects think this, especially bees; think pink. As the title of this post implies, the featured work is a group of flowers that are a bright, hot shade of pink, with a shade of red towards the middle and bright yellow pistons sticking out. This process of attracting bees must work in nature's grand scheme - as I was attempting to photograph this group, insects were flying all around them. I actually had to shoot my subject from a distance and use the zoom lens, so as not to disturb the balance of daily work for the bees and me getting stung!

   I used a fan brush to glaze on some white paint in order to highlight the fine ridges of each petal. I added a touch of violet for shadow on some of the petals. I was a little nervous taking some of these artistic liberties, but in the end, I liked the effect.

   This particular work has now been framed and will be featured in my latest art showing coming up in October. I'm using a gold frame purchased at a yard sale. Numerous readers ask me frequently what frames (or type) should they use. In my humble opinion - it's your art work. Frame it as you like it best! Experiment - see what you like! Because in the end, if you don't like it, that thought process will be conveyed to others - verbally or not.

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill

The Painting Spectrum - New Paintings, New Directions

     It's hard to believe it's been almost a month since my last blog post. As we near mid-September, I can look back with fondness at this past summer. Weather wise as a whole, it has been stellar since last May. I've painted more in the past four months than I have in quite a while. I've painted everything from barns, to flowers, to seascapes, to abstracts, with sizes ranging from 8x10 to 24x30. I spent an astronomical amount of time outdoors, painting, and reading.

     I've shared this before - I'm not a technological person. As a result, I realize that my Internet and social media presence has been somewhat minimal at best. Perhaps when the winter weather settles in again by December, that I'll be posting more blogs. As a result of my unpredictability, I've changed the name of my blog yet again. I feel the title of "The Painting Spectrum" is more accurate than ever now that I've thrown the time-frame portion out the window.

     The work I'm highlighting today was influenced by a book I read about Shakespeare's gardens. The geranium flowers that are in the gardens are exquisitely beautiful. It took several layers for not only the flower, but also the background to get things just right.

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill