Completed Flower Painting

When Is A Work Of Art Complete?

Birds and Hibiscus
48" x 60"
Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

That would be an answer only the artist could give.  But I do believe this particular Bird of Paradise and Hibiscus painting has reached that point.

Birds and Hibiscus
48" x 60"

Working towards the completion of these Birds and Hibiscus has been a great way to spend hours, days and months with pigments and brushes.

Birds and Hibiscus

48" x 60"

It will be delivered and installed soon.  A new project coming.  In the mean time, 'living' with the Birds and Hibiscus for a few days will allow me to revisit the painting visually to confirm it is complete.

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Flower Painting

The Floral Painting is Nearing Completion

The stamen and pistils have been added to the Hibiscus flowers.   You know, the fancy looking part that comes out of the center of the flower.

The principal purpose of a flower is to reproduce.  Without getting too technical, the stamen is the male reproductive system of a plant, while the pistil is the female reproductive system.    And then there is the pollen...

These little parts, stamen and pistil,  will attract a pollinator (such as a bee) who will pick up the pollen and distribute it to another flower so the the reproductive process can take place.

After successful pollination seeds will form and voila, the ability to create a new plant.

I have presented this in a very simplistic format, the process is a bit more complicated than this, but you get the idea.  Is it a wonder this part of the flower is attractive and flamboyant? Fun to paint too.


It's down to the details, some additional shading and shadow work to create more depth .  Check back Monday to see more, and perhaps the completed painting!

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

Painting Flowers.

Painting Birds

And learning about the flowers as I paint them.

The Bird of Paradise flower is strange, unique, and nature repeating nature.  The Birds on this canvas have been the focus of my attention for many hours and months.  Today I worked on the blossoms which are composed of petals that are reminiscent of plumage, flamboyant in design and color.

Do you know that the Bird of Paradise flower prefers temps above 50 degrees?  I do too, but not above 90 degrees for me, however the plant seems to survive in 100+ temps.  Not me.

The Bird also seems to enjoy living in a pot as well as the ground and will bloom more profusely if root bound in the pot.  I think I prefer space.

A new Bird of Paradise plant takes 4-8 years to develop these spectacular blossoms.

These birds are coming to life right here in my studio, adding a bit of the tropics, providing the opportunity to work with a brilliant palette of color, and encouraging me to learn more and more about these exotic flowers.


To contact me click HERE
To visit my web site click HERE

Painting During The Give Away.

Hours of Painting This Week.

Painted in the spines of the remaining Bird of Paradise leaves.

Due to the high weather temps here this week (100+ degrees) and the fact I paint in a studio that is open, without a ceiling, I am spending morning hours in front of my easel.

Began laying on leaf pigment.  Oh boy, it was hot outside.  I discovered that if I would jump in the swimming pool and stay wet I could paint in comfort.

Due to my stylization of the subject, the leaves are beginning to look like feathers.  Appropriate for a Bird of Paradise.

At the end of my hot hot hot hours in front of the easel yesterday this was what the painting looked like, where I started this morning.  

And about the Painting Give Away...

This Little Painting, POM, Was Given Away.  We held a blind draw last night composed of the names of those who participated.

Congratulations to Carla, who is co-owner of  Tom Beebe Artistry in Wood located in Truckee, CA. Follow this link to their Facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tom-Beebe-Artistry-in-Wood/105830106120048  Carla is also the founder of Art Health Alliance, a non-profit providing healing art services.

http://gonevadacounty.com/attraction/art-health-alliance/

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

Painting Give Away

Giving Away a Painting

A couple times each year I give away a painting.  This time it is this little painting titled "POM".  The small stretched canvas is 3" x 3".  The outside dimension with the frame is 4.25" x 4.25". 

 You have three things to do to qualify for the give away.

1. You need to 'like' my Facebook Artist's page and, 2. You need to get a friend to do the same.

3. Then you need to tell me that you and your friend have liked my page.  If you have already done so, just get a friend to like it.  Then tell me you have done this.

How do you do that?

Just follow the link below to my Facebook Artist's Page and click the like button.


Then come back to this blog and, 

Click the 'contact me' link below and tell me that you and your friend have liked my page.

The new owner of the painting will be announced Friday, here in my blog and on my Artist's Page.

Here are the links:

To get to my Artist's Facebook Page, click Here

To contact me to tell me you have liked my page and that a friend has done so as well, click 

HERE

If you will also become a follower of my blog, that will give you an extra entry.

Art Commission.

More Painting on the Canvas

This has been a week filled with hours and hours in front of the canvas working on the Birds and Hibiscus flowers.

Underpainted the hibiscus flowers located in the bottom left of the canvas with the general color that will show in the finished painting.

After drying time, the flowers were painted again to lay in detail, shading, and more color intensity.

Next the upper right Hibiscus flower was underpainted.

These Hibiscus flowers are inspired by the state flower of Hawaii, Pua Aloalo, the yellow Hibiscus which was designated the official state flower in 1988.  

You will notice I also worked on plumage for the third bird in the upper part of the canvas.

Someone asked me the other day how much input I receive from the person or people who commission a painting.  Answer:  it varies, and their input can pertain to size, subject and palette, however when commissioning an artist to create a work, the customer realizes they are asking for a work from an artist with a particular style.  The customer must be comfortable and familiar with the artist's work before entering into a commission.  I like to involve the customer in the early stages of the work, and then keep them aware of the progress of the painting as it moves forward.

For instance, with this commission the buyer asked for a painting for a particular wall.  We discussed size, subject matter and jointly came up with the floral theme using Birds of Paradise and Hibiscus flowers, which are favorites of the buyer.  Now days, with the ability to use the immediacy of digital photos and computers, as well as our hand held devices that do almost everything, I am able to dialogue with the customer as well as send photos, in a timely way,  to make sure we are both working towards the completed painting with satisfaction for all.  After creating a small painting with a similar composition and the selected palette, I send a photo to the buyer for confirmation the commission is on the right track.   With this particular commission the customer asked for a change in the palette based on the desire to have the State Flower of Hawaii represented in the painting. If you research that flower you will find it is not always shown with the crimson center, but this was another detail requested, and because this is art....I can take artistic license....and create what I want on the canvas, or what the customer desires. It is still and always my painting, my creation, my style, with some input from the customer. 

It is back to the studio for me.  More Hibiscus painting over the next few days.

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

Art Commission Continues.

Birds of Paradise and Hibiscus Flowers

The 48" x 60" canvas was under painted with black gesso.  After sketching on the composition consisting of Birds of Paradise and Hibiscus Flowers the negative spaces were defined with a lush ultramarine blue pigment.

Bold slashes of color define the ribs of the leaves.

Working from top left, and the deepest part of the composition, the leaves begin to come to life on the canvas, and the space for the 'bird's heads' becomes more apparent.

The Birds in this area of the canvas are next.

This is such an unusual flower.  Nature repeating nature.  A flower that looks like a bird, with petals that look like plumage, and such fun plumage to paint!

It's back to the easel today with more hours of painting scheduled for this week.  Check back to see the progress of this painting in a post later in the week.

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

Art Commission Continued.

The Submitted Small Painting

I submitted the small painting to the client for approval before beginning the larger work which will be 48" x 60".  Besides being very happy with the general look and feel of this painting, they mentioned their favorite hibiscus is the state flower of Hawaii, which is yellow with a crimson center,  and asked for that flower.   I had painted a coral colored flower because that is what I had growing in my yard and I thought the coral color was appropriate with the rest of the selected palette. So it was back to the canvas with a few palette  adjustments.  The result:

The painting was resubmitted to the client who is very happy with the new look of this painting and I am as well.

Birds and Biscus

24" x 24"

Original acrylic painting on stretched canvas

$1200.

The larger canvas is on the easel and I look forward to spending hours and days painting Birds of Paradise and Hibiscus flowers.  Check back here to follow the progress of this painting.

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

Art Commissions

 How I Begin a Commission

The creative, mental wheels start to turn the moment I receive a commission.  I visualize what I might do with the request as far as composition of the painting, selecting the palette, working with the presentation.  

If the subject is available, I spend time looking, observing and seeing its general and detailed appearance.  My mind is filled with the subject.  Eventually the sketch book comes out and my thoughts are transferred to paper in both general and detailed drawings.  I also spend time researching the subject on line and in books and always learn new things about the subject, such as the fact that Bird of Paradise plants are poisonous.  And I had just used a kitchen knife to cut off a flower for further study....

My current commission is for a 48" x 60" painting filled with  Bird of Paradise and Hibiscus.   These plants are growing in my yard, so it has been easy to spend time with them.  

After the studies are done and the palette is selected I will usually paint a small version.  For this painting I am working on a square canvas for the smaller painting, so even though the composition will be a bit different in the larger work, I have the opportunity to adjust my palette, present the idea behind the larger work to the client, and work with the overall design.

When the small painting is 'complete' I send photos to the client to obtain their approval and confirm we are both on the same page, so to speak.  Today is the day the photo of this small painting goes off to the client.  Check back here later in the week and I will let you know what transpires.

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

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