It is incredible. At this time of year painting from life usually means trips to the florists to buy early Spring flowers but in my garden I have primroses already. In January! I shouldn't be surprised as there were a few small flowers out in December also before the heavy snowfall. Determined to show their beauty they have wisely waited until the snow disappeared before attempting to show their faces again. Maybe they understood how desperately I wanted to paint them. And here they are
Primroses emerging after winter months.
It really is interesting how the colour of the season is affecting my palette. Usually I would paint primroses surRounded by soft light colours. But because these are out in winter the combination of shades I am selecting is completely different and to be honest I quite like it.
For now!
Many visitors to my studio or workshops imagine my loose style means my work appears quickly. It can at times but great thought goes behind every single brushstroke especially with delicate flowers such as these.The soft hues are vital to creating a sense of the delicate petals. The form for each flower has to be accurate or suggest that it is. This takes a lot of time and patience. There are no pencil lines to guide me so I ofren see new flowers appearing which I work on as the painting develops.
This is my style and my technique.
Each petal is carefully positioned and brought to life with subtle colour combinations.
Patience and a good understanding of the subject is necessary for good results.
Madame Blanch Odins work is influencing me yet again. Her influence is very apparent in this painting.
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I am learning so much from nature. In the garden these pretty flowers were planted deliberately in rows. They look beautiful but planned. This doesn't suit them or me! As a keen gardener I often combine spring flowers in beds so that the colours create a feeling of excitement and continual interest. So my previous painting of primroses with muscari is a good example of garden design affecting the artists eye and vice versa. I plant for my art, I plant for inspiration and to allow me always to have colour in my life.
Primroses and Muscari . a Spring Combination.
For me the most magical way to see primroses in in the wild. Along country lanes, footpaths and nearby woodland when walks turn into exciting treats for the eyes as the very first buds appear.They grow in random clumps,unplanned with no deliberate design. Just flowers growing wherever they wish splattering colour all over the place brightening up the world in a way that only nature can.
Seeds carried by the wind just like pigment carried by water settle at will.
So why as artists do we set out to plan our paintings?
Why do we spend too much time deliberately working out which colour goes where for the best results? When nature seems to do everything naturally having gorgeous happy accidents of colour combinations that are often unexpected.
Watercolour is a medium with magical qualities so working in a spontaneous technique allows it to shine in its full glory.
Maybe I have answered the question to why I adore watercolour so much. I am a free spirit. I adore surprises and working with watercolour minus the use of that word "control". I throw rules out of the window and enjoy the sheer pleasure in witnessing subjects come to life in my paintings as if my magic.
Exploring new wonderful colour combinations daily often leaves me almost breathless with excitement.
Beautiful primroses growing wild and free forming a wonderful flow of colour.
This last primrose painting sings to me. I have caught the flowers in their natural habitat surrounded by the debris of Autumn leaves with a hint of the future spring skies to come in the bright blue background.
I am happy, my mood is light and this is flowing into my work.
This painting holds so much in the way of hope for a wonderful year ahead, a year full of amazing paintings and hope for all around me to feel great happniess.
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