Lilac and Butterfly

 

Is there anything as sweet as the fragrance of lilacs?  I wish they bloomed all year so I could bask in their aroma at any chosen time.  The butterflies are out and a quick sketch is on order before heading to the Augusta Plein Air Art Festival, something I look forward to all year long!  I've only a few blooms in grandmother's old fashioned lilacs this year, and they must be immortalized. Painting number 4859 in 4859 days. 

Lilac Wonder

 

In a day full of gardening chores - I just had to take a break for these beauties!   Grandma's lilacs are still blooming, and mellowing into a pinker shade!  As the lavender shades fade to pink, I bring my oils out for this one.  The bright blue sky is the perfect backdrop for these sunlit blooms, and I take advantage of every minute because I may not get another chance to paint them until next year.  Painting number 5154 in 5154 days. 

August Lilacs

 

I couldn't believe when I walked out the door this weekend and found lilacs blooming in the garden!  An early bloomer in spring, it had really faded in the hot days of August.  With the cool down this week and very little rain, here they decide to bloom again!  Planted by my Grandma Frank, these fragrant, old fashioned beauties bring back memories of picking them as a girl to put in a vase in the kitchen.  Their sweet fragrance filled the downstairs!  Though I am busy, I HAD to take time out from gardening to paint Grandma's lilacs that are actually blooming in August! When a few more open, I'll bring them inside to cherish those special summer lilacs.  Painting number 3884 in 3884 days. 

Lilacs!

 

After a fun day planting flowers with Gus, and playing outdoors with Michaela, Casper and Kirby, I find a little time to honor these beautiful blooms.  My old-fashioned lilacs are blooming - and I just HAD to paint them before heading inside!  Planted by my grandmother many years ago, I wonder if she ever dreamed I would one day be painting them each spring?  I remember her picking the fragrant blooms and bringing them into the house, where the rooms filled with their sweet aroma.  I was quite young, but I have such clear memories of the light on the blooms, and sticking my nose right into the flowers and inhaling deeply!  I'm so happy to paint these and relive sweet memories of days gone by.  Painting number 3753 in 3753 days. 

Lilac Blooms

I was so worried these newly opening lilacs would be nipped by last night's frost!  Checking them yesterday, they still were not open enough to paint. Upon awakening, I could clearly see they were unaffected by the heavy frost covering the lawn and trees.  Only my tulip tree had lost some blooms.  We are expecting another one tonight - and I hope it leaves all my blooms alone!!  Spring has really bloomed in my yard and I'm not ready to let it go!!  Painting number 3024 in 3024 days. 

Lilac Impressions

All day long as I worked in the garden, these lilacs called to me. With so much to plant before tomorrow's rain, it was deep in the golden hour when I got to them.  Maybe because I felt rushed all day - I got a little crazy with the palette knife!  At one point I asked myself - "what am I doing?!!" Well, I went a little further before calling it!  Painting number 2662 in 2662 days.

Lilacs!

Oh how I love these lilacs!  I can remember my grandma bringing in these blooms when I was very small.  She would hold them down for me to smell their heady sweet fragrance, then put them in a vase to waft into the rooms of the house.  I look forward to these every year, and they are especially beautiful this season!  I think they are grateful that we trimmed out some limbs from overhead last year, giving them plenty of sunshine.  I hope I get a chance to paint them in oil before they fade!  Painting number 2659 in 2659 days.

October Lilacs

In town for the closing reception for Brush Creek Art Walk, I took the opportunity to stop by the Loose Park Rose Garden.  After finishing a large commission on site, a stroll through the gardens led me to this discovery - October lilacs!!  Well, you KNOW I had to paint them!!  These wonderful old fashioned lilacs are like the ones on my own lawn, bursting with fragrance!  Pulling  my 5x7 guerrilla painter thumb box out of the trunk, I quickly jumped in with paint.  Like an old friend I haven't seen for a while, it was a pleasure to be painting with this little box again!  I fought the wind finishing my 24x30 today, but this little jewel was effortless in the gusts.  My little Altoid palette hadn't been touched for months, but was fresh from the freezer.  If I'd had any idea there might be lilacs, I would have loaded some dioxazine purple!  I mixed what I needed and pushed towards the pink, just because I felt like it.  There are no rules in art!!  Painting number 1746 in 1746 days.

oil on panel, 7x5
purchase here

Lilacs in Ink

Oh my gosh!  I tried a new fountain pen today,  highly recommended by one of my artist friends.  I'm in LOVE!!  This Pilot Varsity fountain pen smoothly lays down my lines,  gliding evenly over this textured handmade paper.  With my line work complete,  I lightly wash over those lines with a water brushpen.....and watch the magic happen!!   Oh my, its a good thing all my Easter prep is done.........I will not be spending any more time in the kitchen tonight!  This pen is calling me with it's "siren song"!!  Painting number 1557 in 1557 days :)

April Lilacs

I scouted for painting locations while out shopping this afternoon,  always ready to pull over and paint!   Nothing grabbed me, and the dinner hour grew near,  so I headed home to fulfill my duties.  I've got some beautiful tulips that were calling me,  but as I rounded a bed I was grabbed by these old lilacs!  I am seldom in town when they bloom,  but the season is so early - I am still here to capture their beauty!   And just to mix things up a little,  I have zoomed in on these babies,  catching the sky light behind them.  I brought some into the house,  and my,  how fragrant they are!!  Painting number 1556 in 1556 days :)

Riot of Lilacs

Riot of Lilacs
Oil on panel, 14x11
Augusta Paint Out, Gallery of Defiance

Lower street in Augusta was abloom with dogwoods and lilacs from the north end to the south.  On our Augusta paint out day, I wanted this exact composition for my painting - which meant standing in the sun, at the edge of the street.  When I opened my easel - much to my surprise - I had forgotten my palette!  I had left it in the freezer (to extend the life of my oils) - and totally forgot to get it before leaving!  I marked my lights and darks with paint straight out of the tube, before running back to Augusta Shores for my palette.  I'm so glad I did, as the light had changed before I got back, and my marks helped me to keep the light that drew me to the spot in the first place.  The light hitting the sides of the lilacs and new spring foliage was simply irresistible!  The flowering lilacs last only a short time - and I’m so glad I was able to capture them!  Painting number 1223 in 1223 days.

on location

Lilac in the Garden

Lilac in the Garden
Oil on panel, 14x11
Augusta Plein Air Festival

Some painting days just do not play out as planned.  I started this painting on the day of the Montelle Winery paint-out.  When only half blocked in, my location became very crowded - and the wind started blowing so much smoke my way.  All I could do was breathe into my jacket, hold my breath long enough to fold up my easel - and make a mad dash for fresh air!  I soon found out it was almost impossible.  I ended by setting up partially down the walking trail off the south side of the winery - with only 45 minutes left on a timed event.  I didn't even try to finish this, I simply moved on to a small 6x6 - turning it in just in the nick of time!  The wild, impressionistic strokes are clearly visible on this as I was frantically trying to get it blocked in!  My difficulty in breathing gave this a very dreamy feel - or is that the lack of oxygen look?  Once again, what the artist is feeling truly comes through in the paints.  Painting number 511 in 511 days.

Lilac Blooms

Lilac Blooms
Oil on panel, 6x6

What a beautiful day for a family dinner!  It has been so warm, the kids have been playing outside so much today!  I had less than an hour this morning to get a painting in between cooking and preparing for company, so I chose a small 6x6 panel - and chose my grandmother's lilacs as my subject! No, they are not yet blooming, but I am calling them into existence by the very act of painting them!  As with the rose I painted a couple of days ago, I started by painting the lightest lights and the darkest darks, and then placing the most intense color.  By mapping this out early, it keeps me on tract, and I don't get distracted with all the areas competing for my attention.  I like this approach!   Painting number 433 in 433 days!  It is supposed to be 70 degrees tomorrow!  Yay!