Hollyhock Spires

Hollyhock Spires
Oil on canvas  16" x 8"
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$395. + $20. s/h

This is the 2nd white hollyhock in this size.  (See my last post.)  There's one more to post, but in a another color.

We have hollyhocks growing in our backyard in several different locations.  Many hollyhocks are bi-ennial (blossoming every other year.)  Luckily we have enough that there are some blooming every year.  Many times I save the seeds over the winter and throw them back into the ground in the spring. Some new sprouts regularly appear.

I photoed this over and over with 2 different cameras.  There is just a bit more yellow in the flower than appears here.  Will keep trying.

Backyard Hollyhocks

Backyard Hollyhocks
plein air oil  16" x 8"
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$395.00 + $10. s/h

This is another floral done plein air in our backyard.  I love going out (to the mountains or elsewhere in town) to paint, but oh, it's so easy when you can just walk out the back door and paint!  My only problem with it is that I'll look down and see weeds in the garden or things growing in the grass that aren't grass and start weeding.  Soon, I've been weeding away for 10-15 minutes and many weeds are gone, but my painting is waiting!  Oh well, if that's my biggest problem in life I have a good life!

Ranch Meadow

Ranch Meadow
plein air oil  10" x 8"
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$195.00 + $10. s/h

This piece was done recently at Rock Ledge Ranch here in Colorado Springs.  A friend and fellow artist had "Julie's 3rd Annual Paint Out" to celebrate her birthday.  It's open to all area artists and has grown each year.  It was a really fun morning with artists from different plein air groups who might not normally paint together.  I was thrilled to have won the "Most Paint On Her Apron Award"!

I've painted at this ranch many times over the years, last month I painted some laundry.

Rose Garden

Rose Garden
Oil  10" x 8"
SOLD
$195.00 + $10. s/h

Recently my plein air group painted in a garden in an older home near downtown Colorado Springs.  I painted there last year as well (click here for that piece).  It is immediately obvious that this couple loves gardening and has spent years cultivating this love.  This house belonged to the woman's grand parents (she grew up in the house next door) and has been in her family for generations.  Somehow, knowing stories like that make painting in a location a bit more fun.

Curving Waters

Curving Waters
Oil  10" x 8"
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$195.00 + $10. s/h

I painted most of this piece (I added a few highlights later in the studio) on a recent morning in Tarryall, about an hour or so west of Colorado Springs in the mountains.  I don't think that you can ever stand before a river and not feel a bit in awe.  Rivers are like old souls or older loved ones, they seem calm and comforting but underneath they are strong and powerful.  Rivers are both terrifying and beautiful;  just look at Mother Nature in a river.

I have painted many river pieces.  They are challenging, as the subject in front of you doesn't pose well.  But their light and dancing sparkles and vast, contrasting colors draw me in.  Many artists paint rivers, as do poets write about them and singers compose and sing of them.  For many, rivers are a bit religious, and not just for baptisms.  As Bob Dylan said: rivers are "Just like God, the river is deep and mystifying, cleansing and strong, ceaseless and never-ending. It makes you wonder why anyone who lives within 20 miles of a river goes to church to pray."

On The Deck

On The Deck
plein air oil  20" x 20"
SOLD
$695.00 + $20. s/h

Our geraniums this summer are spectacular right now...so I set up on the deck to paint them.  I've got this one finished and am ready to start a second.  In a few days I'll have to clip back the blooms and then for about a week or so we'll be in between great blooms.

I thought that this would be a fun, colorful painting if I toned the canvas bright red, like the subject matter.  I like the way the red sparkles through the shadow and back ground.

Here's a snap shot of the corner of our deck.  Normally the top geranium doesn't sit up on the deck ledge, but on the top of the little green garden shelf.  But, for the painting I moved it up and set it on a piece of cardboard so the shadow would show.  These plants were purchased in April at Costco.  I had to bring them in every night in April, because our nights here in Colorado Springs in the spring still get below freezing.  But, it was worth it!  Now I have beautiful color right out the kitchen door!

Optimistic Hue

Optimistic Hue
plein air oil  6 x 6"
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$100.00 + $10. s/h

This is the 4th of the 4 recent yellow rose paintings.  Maybe I'll paint some more in their next blooming.  For those of you with roses in your yard, remember to cut them back after they bloom and you should have another series of blooms later in the summer.

Here is some more info on yellow roses that I Googled:
"Yellow roses in their unassuming charm and sweet simplicity send out an equally alluring message. Colors range from light yellow to golden. Yellow roses express joy, gladness, and friendship. They are given to new mothers, newlyweds, and graduates. They're also used as a reminder to a loved one to show that you care. 

Friendship and "I care" are the foremost meanings of a yellow rose. Unrestrained and uninhibited as the breeze, free from attachments, the yellow rose definitely says that the sender is keen on friendship alone. 

Here, you will not find the heat of passion, only the warmth of a genuine and sincere smile. The sender of yellow roses delicately indicates that while his affection is straight from the heart, there are no hidden depths. 

Unbridled joy is another meaning of a yellow rose. Therefore, yellow roses are often congratulatory in tone. Yellow roses are given to celebrate new beginnings. These delicate flowers proudly laud an accomplishment, a consummation or a fulfillment. You simply cannot do without yellow roses when you send flowers to express joy and pride in another's achievement.

The color yellow was interpreted as a "pale" color during the early Victorian period. They had shades of negative meanings ranging from lukewarm affection to jealousy. They indicated a frame of mind that was on the one hand lacking in fervor, while on the other mutinous and envious in tone. But, the yellow rose has overcome these negative intonations and now mean "warm and sunny" affection, joy and pleasure. "

Again, this is how I find some of my painting titles.  I Google the subject, read what's online and find a title.  I came up with 10 easy titles after reading the above yellow rose info!  How do you find your titles?

Wish For Well Being

Wish For Well Being
plein air oil  6" x 6"
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$100.00 + $10. /sh

Here is the 3rd of 4 yellow roses from our side yard.  It continues to amaze me how the petals and leaves change from warm to cool depending on the time of day, the weather and clouds, who knows maybe even the mood of the rose, maybe my eye sight.  I certainly couldn't have mixed together paint and used just those mixes for all four yellow rose paintings.  Ever wonder why the Impressionists all had such beautiful colors in their paintings...maybe, like me, their eyes were getting older!

And, the title for this was chosen because yellow roses symbolize "a wish for well being."

Message Of Friendship

Message Of Friendship
plein air oil  6" x 6"
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$100. + $10. s/h

This is the second of the four roses.  I liked the way that there was just a soft shadow on the back of the rose.  You'd think the all of the petals would be either a warm yellow (leaning orange) or a cool yellow (leaning green).  But, no, this rose had warm and cool yellow petals making it so much more interesting!

Good Cheer

Good Cheer
plein air oil  6" x 6"
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$100.00 + $10. s/h

I recently finished painting a series (4) of yellow roses that are growing in our side yard on a trellis.  This is the first in the series, the next 3 soon to follow!
 
As I often do to find names for my paintings I went to Google to search "yellow roses", found four good titles, and learned:

"Long associated with the sun and its life-giving warmth, yellow is the age-old spokes-color for warm feelings of friendship and optimism. In many Eastern cultures, the color represents joy, wisdom and power. But while any yellow flower will send a lighthearted message, the history of the yellow rose in particular has an optimistic, serendipitous character that really makes it the complete package.

By the 18th century the worldwide love of roses was in full swing, but they were only cultivated in shades of pink and white. At last, the elusive yellow rose was discovered growing wild in the Middle East, and the European love affair with yellow roses was born. The early yellow rose lacked the sweet scent for which the rose is famous, however, which was not to be tolerated. So, as cultivation methods were developed and refined, the beloved sweet-and-spicy rose scent was soon introduced and the yellow rose achieved all its optimistic and aromatic glory."

Back Yard Iris

Back Yard Iris
Oil  16" x 20"
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$595.00 + $20. s/h

This was part of our back yard last month.  Most of this painting was done in the back yard, but a few touch ups were added a bit later in my studio.  I generally hang the "almost" done, or "I think" this is done pieces on one studio wall where I can look at them for awhile until I decide if they're finished.  This one took quite a bit of looking and heading back outside to really re-look at the leaves.  

Here's the start of my piece w/ most of the block in finished.