Iris Aglow

 

I love spending time in the garden painting - and these iris are irresistible! I admire their rich magenta hues in the sunlight - which keeps popping in and out, and wonder which friend's garden these came from.  I often plant the tiniest roots found neglected in the strangest places, not knowing what they will one day become.  It's like Christmas when those little babies bloom!  Painting number 4880 in 4880 days. 

Norma's Iris

 

My first iris is blooming three weeks early, one from a dear friend who's no longer in this world. I love how these blooms remind me of friends and family members, long after they are gone.  Pen and ink in this traditional style is fun to return to.  Like old friends, the pens wait for me, and reward me for the effort.  Painting number 4853 in 4853 days. 

Iris in Batik

The iris are simply beautiful this year, so I've painted one in watercolor batik!  I pick up iris rhizomes from family and sometimes in the wild, and give them a spot in my garden.  It's a surprise when they bloom for the first time - and I remember where each came from.  Painting number in days. 

 

Iris Bloom at Sunflower Hill Farm

 

Sunflower Hill Farm is such a beautiful place to paint - and I simply couldn't resist this scene!  It called to me as I walked up to check in, and yet again as I scouted the area. With ink I sketched my scene, then filled in the color with watercolor. I went back in with a little more ink until I found the balance I was looking for! It was a wonderful afternoon spent visiting and painting, and what is better than that? Come see this one in person at the Harmonie Verein in Augusta beginning Saturday! Painting number 5022 in 5022 days. 

Iris Batik

 

I'm teaching a Watercolor Batik Workshop March 24 and 25 at Silver Sycamore Gallery in Sainte Genevieve!!  Message me to save your spot!  My method uses layers of ink, watercolor, and hot wax to achieve this effect on rice paper.  We'll work with two different papers and explore the possibilities.  Love the depth this process gives to a painting!  Painting number 3716 in 3716 days. 

Purple Iris

All of my irises have a memory attached.  These beauties were brought to me by my oldest son and his wife just before they moved out of the first house.  This is only their second season in the ground, and they are already blooming so well - in each place I planted them!  So, today I am painting them in ink and watercolor, but perhaps I'll try them in oil before they fade. A few of my iris blooms were nipped in that long hard freeze we had in April, so there are fewer irises in my garden this year.  It makes me appreciate these all the more!  Painting number 3055 in 3055 days. 

Yellow Iris Dance

Today finds me painting Great Grandmother's yellow iris, which have grown in the cellar as long as I can remember.  Last year, I moved the dwindling clump from the top of the cellar (where the soil is washing away) to the middle tier.  These have doubled,  if not tripled, in our covid year, and I'm so happy to see their robust return.  In celebration, I am capturing their splendor in ink abs watercolor before the expected storms further pummel them.  I just dumped 7 inches of rain out of the rain gage - from the last two days!  I've been neglecting my watercolors lately, and it feels good to pick them up again!  Painting number 3050 in 3050 days. 

Brown Iris

Given to me by a friend, this brown iris is one of the most unusual colors I've seen!  I wish I knew the name of it!  An early bloomer, it is shorter and fuller than some of my others.  I've decided to zoom in for a closer view, for a different composition.  Using ink and watercolor makes for a quick sketch, which is perfect on a day of yardwork and surprise family dropping in!  Painting number 2692 in 2692 days.

Iris White and Purple ATC

This iris is one I remember from childhood, a favorite in Grandma's iris garden.  The soft shades of lavender with ruffled edges are eye-catching, indeed!  On this day full of so many chores at home, I just had to sneak in a miniature painting of this beauty.  When those other buds open up, I hope to do this in oil!  Painting number 2688 in 2688 days.

Chapeau Iris

Today finds me painting another of Grandma's iris varieties - Chapeau, I think!  This lovely bicolor bearded iris is tall and vigorous, blooming up out of thick daylilies!  I will transplant them this fall to a place they can spread and call their own!  I love their rich color on this rainy day!  Oils were the perfect choice to define their petals!  Painting number 2683 in 2583 days.

Night Iris

I spent the whole day working on the garden, getting the trellis work half done before dark.  Planting a few more herbs and all of the squash, I came in exhausted and hungry! There's no time for eating when there's work to be done!  After a shower and a meal, I am able to get a tiny painting in, this iris blooming just off the front porch.  And tomorrow, I'll do it all again.  Painting number 2671 in 2671 days.

Earl of Essex Iris

Another full day outside of working in the gardens - with a wonderful break where Tiffany and her boys came out for an outdoors visit - social distance style!  It was great to see them, and the weather was perfect!  We walked back to the woods, down to the pond, and back to the house.  Little Augustus couldn't quite walk all the way, so momma carried him half way up the lane.  Nice to relax and enjoy the day - then right back to work until dark!  Love these beautiful days!  It is so hard to come inside when it is so gorgeous out still!  Painting number 2668 in 2668 days.

Wild Roses and Iris

Wild Roses and Iris
Mixed media on unstretched canvas, 4x6
purchase here

on location

Today was a baseball tournament day, leaving little time for painting. So, here I have painted a little floral scene from the edge of the old cellar.  Wild roses have snuck into this bed - and I will soon remove them, but for now, they are a nice compliment to the old white and yellow irises.  This is a very small mixed media piece - only 4x6 inches.  I started this one on a white surface, only because I didn't think of toning it until I had already done my pastel sketch!  Building the petals and foliage up with molding paste, I then started the background with oils, as I left the paste drying.  The flowers were the last to be painted, finishing with a little knife work.  I am planning a full day painting at the arboretum tomorrow - I sure hope the weather cooperates!  Painting number 877 in 877 days :)

Profusion of Iris

On location - Overland Park Arboretum
Stems - Quick Paint
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Profusion of Iris
Oil on wood, 11x14
purchase here

Tonight was the kick-off for the Stems Plein Air Event at the Overland Park Arboretum.  I chose these fabulous irises for the two hour quick paint.  I will have to get a better image tomorrow, because the one I tried to take in the trunk of my car STILL has quite a glare on it!  Painting number 874 in 874 days :)

Yellow and White Iris

Yellow and White Iris
Oil on wood panel, 5x7
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This iris brings back sweet memories from my childhood.  It is one of my grandma's varieties that has always grown by the cellar.  I can remember playing out there with my brother, running around with "dawn" bottles full of water - squirting each other until they were empty!  The large, beautiful iris heads would blow back and forth in the wind, almost as tall as I was!  I have always had a love of flowers.  My first art memory is of drawing a vase of flowers on a colonial table, with a picture window behind them - for my mother.  I was four years old at the time.  I still remember the smell of the wooden window sill of that window.  I also remember the feel of sinking my little teeth into that same window sill, and the dusty taste of it.  Isn't that funny?  Mom would often put fresh flowers in a clear glass vase in front of that window.  She always had flowers in the garden, as did my grandma, and I remember every one.  I also have varieties from my Grandma Lynn, Grandma Bessie, my Grandma Frank's neighbor - the Ruhls, and a few from my Aunt Diana.  Flowers are little gifts that keep giving every year as they spread and bloom anew.  I am so fortunate to have the room to allow them grow and spread at will.  If they ever start to crowd, I can simply move them out to the pasture and hedgerows!  Painting number 866 in 866 days :)

Purple Iris

Purple Iris
Oil on wood panel, 5x7
purchase here

Every day, there are new irises blooming in the garden!  Today, three varieties popped open - these, a yellow and white, and a russet one.  I got out early - before my classes at the gym, and painted these purple beauties.  With my parents in town, my painting time is limited, so I am getting to the easel very early to get my painting in.  With a day full of shopping with Michaela and mom, we are now ready to go to another awards ceremony - this time just for the seniors.  Making this a quick post - painting number 865 in 865 days :)

Ruffled White and Lavender Iris

Ruffled White and Lavender Iris
Oil on wood panel, 5x7
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What a busy day this has been!  After the gym and teaching an oil painting class, I headed out for some yard work.  My - how the weeds have popped up while I was away!  My parents arrive Tuesday for Michaela's high school graduation, so I have been busy trying to get everything in order.  This beautiful iris has just bloomed - and many more are ready to open.  This is one of the starts I was given from an artist friend, Myrtie Gourley, years ago.  I love how so many of my flowers remind me of the friends who shared them with me.  Quite a few have been given to me by those who are no longer with us, and what a joy it is to see them open and bloom each season!  I have completely painted this with my new brushes, not even taking out my palette knife.  I may use my knife in a few days, when the many others bloom.  Perhaps I will go for a looser interpretation then.  I am having fun in the exploration of the iris petals, with their many ruffles and papery texture.  Each day, there  is something new to inspire me.  I simply love this time of year!  Painting number 861 in 861 days.

Pink and Violet Iris

Pink and Violet Iris
Oil on canvas panel, 6x8
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These are my first iris to bloom - and they are beauties!  I have always thought them challenging to paint.  With their papery stands and falls, translating that texture in oils can be tricky.  I sketched out the whole composition, trying to be more accurate than normal on the shapes of these petals.  Next, I cut in with the background - all of it - before adding any color to the blooms.  I mixed quin. magenta with alizarin crimson for both the stands and the falls, adding much more white to the stands.  Then, I pushed them towards the warm and cool as it appeared on the actual petals, illuminating them with the diffused light of the rainy day.  The light had changed drastically by the time I took the easel shot - and the sun popped out for 5 minutes!  I think I may try to do another in the late afternoon tomorrow - to capture how different the colors are in the sunshine!  That is, if we have sunshine tomorrow!  Painting number 859 in 859 days.

on location

Iris Magic

Iris Magic
Ink, watercolor, wax on masa paper, 7.5x5.5
purchase here

Another day spent in experimentation - just trying to see what I can do with this masa paper!  I think painting and iris is challenging - so I am studying one today!  Using the same techniques I have in the previous days, this time I am using colors from the painting for the "crease work".  Wanting a little more color harmony on this one and a little less "old world" feel, I step away from the browns and use indigo and green for this work.  Rather than work all the creases the same, I concentrate on the background ones and just touch lightly on the petals.  I like the effect and the color pop!  I am having so much fun on these - and I just got a whole roll of this masa paper in!  Painting number 641 in 641 days :)

Dreaming of Iris

Dreaming of Iris
Acrylic on panel, 11x14
sold

I have been all day painting in Marceline, Missouri - and am just now arriving home.  I was able to finish 3 paintings - but did not get images of any yet!  I will get them tomorrow, and get ahead of the game.  These iris were painted from the wonderful gardens at the Overland Park Arboretum.  Choosing acrylic for this one, they are glorious in bloom - if only the blooms lasted longer!  It is so late, and my bed is calling me - so this will be a shorter post than normal!  Painting number 614 in as many days - and Day 6 of the 30 Day painting challenge!