Trumpet Vine

ink and watercolor on handmade paper

 

I love painting these old fashioned trumpet vines - much more than I like weeding them out of my other flower beds! Grandma had them growing on the cellar, and I can remember her keeping them at bay.  Not realizing how out of hand they could become, I let all things grow outside their boundaries, with reckless abandon!  I thin and transplant when necessary, but I will almost never pull flowers like weeds! As a result these beauties pop up everywhere, and the cellar has a whole side edged with this like a hedge!  The hummingbirds especially love it, and they dart in and out of the blooms constantly. I'm painting small as night approaches, as I am running out of time again.  The days are growing shorter, and I am already missing those extra minutes of daylight!  Painting number 3891 in 3891 days. 

Butterfly on the Trumpet Vine

Butterfly on the Trumpet Vine
Watercolor on paper, 7.5x5
Purchase Information

These trumpet vines were planted by my grandma on our cellar, and every year they yield these perfect orange trumpets.  They have migrated to a few other locations, one is right outside the kitchen window where I can easily paint them.  The hummingbirds and butterflies love them, and in the last few years, we have hummingbird moths that also flurry around them. This is the first time I have painted them in watercolor, instead of my usual oils or acrylics.  I've lately been thinking of trying out my pastels, too.   Hmmm, I love to experiment!  This painting makes 607 in  607 days.

Hummingbird in the Trumpet Vine

Hummingbird in the Trumpet Vine
Acrylic & molding paste on panel, 10x8

After two week of watercolor painting, today, I am mixing it up a little with acrylics and molding paste! I have only done a handful of these textural paintings, and three of those have sold!  With this one, I am trying to learn the different palette knives and how they can maneuver the light molding paste.  Each stroke is a lesson - some succeed and some fail, and those I resculpt into the shape I want with the knife.  It is challenging, especially when the petals have very distinct shapes!  Each time I switch mediums, it takes me extra time to get my head back into the right place to work whatever medium I have at hand.  When I do the same thing each day, I simply jump right in without thought.  But today, I had to gather the right paints, palette and brushes - checking to make sure I did indeed have all the matching stuff!  These trumpet vines have burst open in the last few days - right outside the bay window in the kitchen - and how the hummingbirds love them!  This painting makes 541 in 541 days.  I will be plein air painting in the morning in Raymore - I wonder which medium I will choose tomorrow?