Anemone Japonica

About a week ago these lovely flowers began to open, and although it is great to see that they have survived, I would not expect them to be in full flower is my north facing garden until the middle of August. If I could only choose one flower to grow it would be these. At the back end of the summer when the greens have lost their freshness and lots of the star performers have finished flowering, they are a beacon of light in sun and in dark corners alike. If they are out now, what are we going to be left with going into September. That's nature!!

It is a while since I painted these flowers, I have two examples hanging on the walls in the house, and often forget that I can have another go.
It is interesting to see if my style has slightly changed over the years.

there is not a lot to explain in this painting. I did the drawing first and because they are white flowers, I painted the background to give me their shape. I kept the colours very muted and soft so that the ring of stamens would be the focal point.

                                                                  'Anemone Japonica'
I am quite pleased with the result and it is nice to compare it with others that I have done in the past.
The painting was done on 'Cornwall' 450g matt paper by Hahnamuhle which I think helps the soft quality of the finished painting.

Field of Red

I had such a lovely time creating 'Bluebells Abstract' so I thought I would create a sister painting but of poppies.
The Bluebells gave rise to some debate about the actual flower depicted. There was some suggestion that it was more Hyacinth than Bluebell, so we compromised and I called it 'Field of Blue' ( See blog posted 3rd June 2014 ).Hence the title of this piece....'Field of Red'.

I used exactly the same technique as the previous painting so any details can be seen on the previous post, and I have become a little anxious about repeating myself, since Peter Ward was informed that his blog contained too many pictures and in future he would have to pay to post picture!!! He was then locked out of his site. He is trying to rectify the matter, but it does make me a bit wary of posting all the stages involved in my paintings.
I am sure I have lots still to go, as Peter has been going ages longer than me, and his posts are very picture based, much more than mine, but it does not hurt to be wary. If anyone reading this post has had the same experience we would love to here from you.

Anyway, back to Field of Red. I started by sticking some distressed builders linen scrim to the lower foreground in a slightly circular shape to produce some texture. I attached it to the painting with gesso.
 The background was then painted , using lots of Pyroll Red and Apatite Green Genuine, with other pigments added. I was very careful to let the green dry before adding the red, as if the two colours mix they become very dirty.
I then painted in a few field-like marks, and then using pva medium I stuck down my bits of painted doiley.
I completed the collage with circles cut with a hole punch from the edged of the doiley paper.
I finally added a few green streaks over the red area to give me some stems.

Sorry, the greens on the left look a bit blue, but they are actually very fresh 'new grass' colour. Must be the light when I took the photo!