EBB Tulips

These were the tulips that did me in. Ok, not really, but painting them I think kicked off the dreaded EBB. Or at least, this is what I was painting when it started. I said to my husband, "Should I wipe these?" He said, "No, I like them." I couldn't see it. And that's part of the EBB for me - nothing looks pretty. So here they are for you to decide.

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil on panel - "Five Tulips"

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil on panel - "Four Tulips"

Click Here to Bid - 6x6in. - oil on panel - "Two Tulips"

Sharing a Bed

 

Click Here to Bid (5x3in. - GOUACHE - starts at $75)

Every once in a while I think of a title like this and I am baffled that after 3000+ paintings, I haven't used it before! I took photos of these tulips in Dallas a few years ago at the Botanical Gardens with my good friend, Jackie. I kept passing them over to paint in oil, but man it works in gouache (IMHO)! Which is the great thing about using more than one medium.

"Threelips," again

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I'm taking a workshop this week from a Russian artist who has come all the way to Oregon to impart his wisdom. So far it has been very interesting, and it's only the first day! I'll be sure to share my take-away's with you when it's done. Meanwhile, my buyer fell through for this painting, so I am re-listing it.

Tulips By Moonlight

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I used a cool, indirect light for this one, the last of the tulips. I used to think indirect light wouldn't be...enough. But I like this. I'm going to try it more often.

A Nice Spot for Tea

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I'm back from the Plein Air Convention. And I didn't die of fear before completing my demo, so I call that a success! But really, I heard good things afterwards, so I'm happy. My secret was the wonder woman socks I wore. : ) The whole event was actually QUITE fun, and informative. My favorite presentation was by Jill Carver, a wonderful artist I know from my time in Austin.

Now back to the tulips. This is number 4 in the series, of 5. Unfortunately I will be off on another trip before the auction for this is done. So I won't be able to ship the next few paintings until I return from France on May 20th.

Scissors Lurking

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This is my third painting with these tulips. For this and the one before I used a soft florescent "daylight" bulb. I find these often work well for flowers because, unlike halogen, the light doesn't necessarily overwhelm (or shine right through) the delicate petals.

I will be demo-ing at the Plein Air Convention in San Diego next week (Wednesday at 2:20pm, for those going)! This morning I am beginning the long journey down to San Diego, stopping off to paint with a friend for a couple of days. Unfortunately this means I won't be able to ship paintings until I am back (May 1st). I apologize for the inconvenience!

Threelips

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Here's my second attempt with these flowers. I went for simplicity. And glass. Glass is always fun.

Tea and Tulips

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I went to the store with the idea of buying sunflowers. I went to two stores, but the petals were all very ... crinkly. So I bought these interesting tulips that were somewhat green on the outside (when the petals were closed). They only stayed decent looking for a couple of days, so I painted them as many times as I could. This is number one.

Being Seen with Tulips

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I snapped the reference for this one in NYC this spring. I can't tell you exactly where (because I don't remember), but they had some big eggs nearby. And an ice skating rink. And tulips, which these two seemed to be taking a break from looking at. Anyway, I just loved their outfits! It's like they dressed with the tulips in mind.

The New Vase

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I am back from my workshop in San Francisco and ready to report! First of all, the space was a dream! It was held at the Friend's School in the Mission District, and we had plenty of room and (ahem) skylights, which were awesome. Honestly I forgot to take pictures until the last day, and I missed a few who left early, so our room looks less than full here:

We scampered around San Francisco for 2 half days, and painted the rest of the time. My kids were a great bunch, though a couple of them did pressure me to drink a little too much wine on more than one occasion. Peer pressure, I tell you, it's strong. Here are most of them:

I stayed in town through the weekend, visiting/hiking/eating/pedicuring with my good friend Randi, and then headed back to the school on Monday to give a presentation to the 8th graders about our workshop and all the cool things my kids painted. Even though I am terrified of 8th graders (I am embarrassed to admit) I somehow made it out alive and home on Tuesday. Since then I've been recuperating, catching up on email, hanging with the family, etc. 

Sugaraholic

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On Monday we are going out of town to visit my husband's birth-mother in Germany for 2 weeks. This was a tough decision, but I'm going to leave all my paints here and bring only a brand new watercolor set, some pens and my sketchbook. My hope is this will force me out of my comfort zone. Ahh! I might post some things on my Facebook page, but probably nothing here until after April 4 (unless I end up painting tomorrow). I also won't be able to ship any paintings until after April 4.

Not Tulips, Just One

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I've been looking through my old paintings lately and noticing how my compositions have been getting more and more complicated. So I've been trying for simple the last few days.

Put Two Lips Together

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After I posted yesterday about using cool LED to light your flowers, I got several other suggestions. In case you don't check the comments, I thought I'd share them here. Lyn says if you put an ice cube in the vase the tulips won't open as fast. Jean says a if you have hot lights, simply put a penny in the water and the tulips will keep their shape (under cool lights the stems get rigid). And I can't find this last comment again, but someone said put them in the fridge for a few hours before you paint them and that helps too. Lots of things to try!

Five Tulips

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One thing I know about flowers, and tulips especially, is they change quite a bit when you shine a light on them. What I discovered today when I painted these (twice) is - heat plays a big part in that. If your light gets hot you're going to be really frustrated when after 30 minutes your flowers have opened and even the shadows are different! If your light is cool (like an LED) your flowers don't change much at all, and in the end you have a sane artist instead of a crazy one!