New paintings and regular art updates.
Painted this today, only 5×5 inches. I might add more to the background. It’s meant to have droplets of water (like tears) on the petals. I’m also trying to emphasise the flower with a strong red but I don’t know if I should darken the greens. Still I have at least painted again.
I painted this a few years ago, it’s based on a poppy with a white centre. Most poppies have dark splodges in the centre. I think this looks more subtle. I’m toying with the idea of painting a mixture of both on a larger canvas? The background would be greens and straw coloured. Got to possibly block out or draw out their positions and then maybe add some forget-me-nots.
Memory of a trip to the Southwest of England. We stopped off at a lovely sea cove, and on the cliffs above it there were bright red poppies. These were so cheering, waving in the breeze along with rough stalks of grass. I need to paint a picture of a poppy field, this might be an inspiration to work from.
I was asked if I had any more poppy paintings for the shop unit today so I resurrected an old painting.
This was from 2019, it was a Poppy that lacked definition, it was a bit dark and flat. I was never very happy with the leaves so I over painted them too. Acrylic on canvas.
Thinking of trying another idea for a painting. Wheat and poppy. Using red, blue green and yellow with thin black outlines. It would have to be stylized to fit in with the new technique I’m using but I don’t want to overdo it. I love the way poppy petals are shaped and coloured.
Red seems to be the theme of my paintings this week. Red poppies and red steam engine governor. Now I need to try and get the poppies painting finished. I want to work on the petals to make them more realistic. I’d also like to get the leaves and stems right. It’s difficult from imagination so I’m going to try and find some reference photos to work from.
I did a bit of work on this long thin poppy painting too. I need to finish it by next week. I do seem to like putting myself under pressure! I imagine this hung on a narrow section of wall. I want to add a lot of detail and make the poppies stand out against the pale blue background. I hope it has an art nouveau appearance.
Ten years ago I painted this beautiful flower. I think it’s a type of poppy called Shirley, I grew some from seeds. What I like is the pale centre instead of the usual dark, or black pattern in the middle. I deliberately used a pale background to compliment the light reflected on the petals. When poppies unfurl from their buds they look papery but they are quite strong, not delicate, its just a shame they don’t last very long and soon fade.
Red is the colour I loved as a child. Not pink. I had to have a bright red polkadot dress. I remember seeing a red setting sun for the first time when I was small. I liked red sweets, though I don’t remember the flavour. Red roses were beautiful, and red toffee apples were tasty.
Even now I like wearing red, but I’m a bit more adventurous, liking deep reds and maroons and bright reds. I still don’t like pink though.
This brilliant red flower spike broke off a gladiolus that was growing in the yard (there are all sorts of plants out there) decided to bring it into the kitchen o we can enjoy it for a fee more days. It’s also an opportunity to consider painting it. I think I might paint it with texture and in close up. Flowers are amazing aren’t they?
Mallaband-Brown