This painting is now hanging at Hammons Hall. I like the colors and the whimsy. This is the first painting I did after bringing my parents home to live with me. I had just moved and my studio still needed to be set up. There was a leak in the roof while I was in Florida caring for my mom after heart surgery. My husband and the contractor had knocked a big hole in the wall and pulled the carpet back. Everything was pushed to one side. No wonder I did not paint much during that time.

Sunflowers and Blackbird

20"x13.5"

$400.00

I have always liked sunflowers. yellow has been my favorite color since childhood. This flowers always face the direction where they get the most sun. In my old house they faced to the outside of the fence. At my new house they face my porch. Location, location. I try to do one sunflower painting a season. There is another one in this series. The next sunflower painting will be more realistic presenting the drama of their size.

This painting started out as play. First I created the centers by laying down paint and then touching the paint with drops of alcohol. Then I started creating the pedals by laying down the oranges and yellows then used a rubber spatula to move the paint around. The hard edge of the spatula also marked the paper with lines to help define the pedals. A lot of painting around the edges and additons of line and color for the background. The blackbird showed up late in the painting process. I like how the blue of the sky is in the flower's center and mixed in the stems.