Roses in Bloom

Light, Romance, & Roses Abound

English Rose

Lately, I have been focusing on making lighter brighter paintings. Some of this is intentional as I have a show this fall that is in a darker venue which led me to realize that I want to feature brighter works.

While I may not be in love with the English Rose painting, I am in love with the rose in her hair. I had fun painting this portrait. I was focused more on paint strokes and composition than I was features. The model is more petite and soft in real life. I loved how the light hit her braid and how the light hit the flower in her hair - beautiful. Also, I used a huge brush to paint in the choppy background--a new "try" for me. I wanted a loose thick background brushstroke--so I bought a new big brush. I tried to mix several purples to be in the background and I also tried to lay them in and leave them...And seemingly as always, this one looks better in person. Actually this painting style reminds me of two great artists--John Larriva & Malcom Liepke --both are terrific artists whom I admire!

Lost in Austen

My first version of Lost In Austen, painted quickly en plein air was not as good as I wanted it to be. Using photo references, I created this painting which I like much better.  The hat was difficult to paint as it had a veil up behind it, so I had to work to create a transparent look. The features represent the model fairly accurately, although I did put a little more emphasis on her mouth -which I left intentionally larger than reality. Also, hard to tell in this picture, but there is much light on the left side of her face and hair. I went back in and added a really white light yellow to the left side. The strokes in the background were made with a little brush --I like the Van Gogh-ish aspects of this background.

Be Still My Soul

This next scene, Be Still My Soul, is also a bit romantic, although I am not sure about the look on her face.? This is a favorite model of mine and she usually has attitude--which I still feel here even though I wanted a softer look! I perhaps made her gaze too high... Hmmm...And I may change the title, she looks so church lady...

Otherwise, I like the light bright beauty of Be Still My Soul. The hat was awash with light and seemed the brightest aspect of the portrait. I also loved the darks and lights in her hair. And, the rose pattern on her robe was rather delicious... This is the painting that inspired me to get a big brush for background as I had wanted tons of paint and a darker teal; yet when I used my big brushes at home they blended and left lines that I didn't like. So when I went back in to remove the lines, I mushed the background and it became a little light...

Enchanted Summer

And the latest in the outdoor rose romance series is...Enchanted Summer. This painting does not capture the model's features - but I still like it. Once again, I focused on brushwork and light. I wanted the white dress to be the lightest brightest. I went back in and added cad yellow light to white to the blouse to get a nice white glow (which matches the bright green background). And, I wanted to play a bit with the background--in reality this was painted indoors but I have a show coming up and needed an outdoor background. I added the pink color over the green background, which really helps with the visual interest.