1295. Family Gathering

 1295. Family Gathering is a redo of a previous painting.  I am much happier with this one.

My husband bought me a large bunch of beautiful tulips and I photographed them from above for a different perspective.

24 x 24 " gallery wrapped canvas

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1295--family-gathering/1220549

1288. In the Blink of an Eye....

 In the blink of an eye life can change, so make the best of each and every day.  Flowers make everyday better!

This painting is available for purchase.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1288-in-the-blink-of-an-eye/1190268

1224. Sudden Stop for Hollyhocks

 A Facebook friend posted a photo of Hollyhocks, and gratefully she agreed to let me use it as a reference.  She happened to be driving and saw hollyhocks growing near a restaurant, and she stopped to photograph them.  It reminded me of the bumper sticker that reads, "I brake for garage sales"  because those of us who love flowers can't help but stop to admire their beauty.  

Thanks to Karen Spinti for the great photo.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1224--sudden-stop-for-hollyhocks/1084726

1101 Seat Taken

 This was my last chance to paint the marigolds I grew from life.  It was really hard to say goodbye to them as they were so brilliant.  The chair is one I painted several years ago, modified in this painting.  In reality, every surface of the chair is painted with a design, but I felt too many details would take away the focus of the marigolds.  I'm very happy with this painting. but I am NOT falling in love with it because that is "the kiss of death" for a painting, as a wise former mentor would say.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1101-seat-taken/945114

1058 He Loves Me

 

It's hard for me to believe that it's  been almost a month since I posted a painting.  The summer has been very busy with company, out of town visits, and of course gardening.  

My husband knows how much I love flowers and he buys a bouquet for me every week without fail.  The flowers he gave me were my reference for this painting, and I can't help but remember as a small child I would pull the petals off of a daisy, quietly chanting "He loves me, he loves me not."  I wonder if kids do that these days.  Everything is so different now.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1058-he-loves-me/919547

1057 Intoxicating

 A dear friend of mine gave me an empty wine bottle that is an artistic masterpiece all by itself.  It has color blocking and I love incorporating it into my still lifes.  

1055 Get Together

 This color palette is becoming a favorite of mine, possibly because it's summery and happy.  The wine bottle is a piece of artwork in itself, having a color blocked motif.  The turquoise pitcher is difficult to paint realistically so I simplified it.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1055-get-together/906520

1050 Summer, Straight Up with a Lemon Twist

 Did you miss me last week?  I had an action filled week at a zoom art class 8 a.m. till 5 p.m. every day.  It was wonderful, but very tiring.

This painting really spells summer to me--sunflowers, zinnia, cherries, and lemon(ade).  What more can you ask for?  I hope you like it.

1039 After the Rain, a Rainbow

 

 Yesterday it was 90 degrees here in Chicago and I was wishing for an overnight rain the quench the garden's thirst.  Today it is a cold 45 degrees, rainy and dreary.  I had hoped to find white tulips to paint, but there were none, but I felt lucky to find a huge bunch of mixed tulips, too many to fit in one vase.  I hope you like this one---I'm happy with it and enjoyed watching the tulips grow right before my eyes!!

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1039-after-the-rain-a-rainbow/882479

1033 Just Because

 

Mother Nature sometimes creates such vibrant colors that it is nearly impossible to duplicate them.  This was one of those cases.  The white flower in the front was such a beautiful vivid purple and I tried many times to achieve it, but couldn't.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1033-just-because/877747

1007 The Kiss of the Sun

 

Happy Holidays to all of you.  During this year's shelter, I managed to get all my shopping and wrapping done early, a first for me.  I had plenty of time to paint and try new things, one example is studying abstracts.  I've collected a huge file on Pinterest.  I wonder if I will ever get confident in this new genre.  

This is the first time I have painted on heavy weight art paper, and I am surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  The surface is much smoother than canvas and it doesn't take up much space.  The painting can be varnished and mounted on a cradled board, or framed in a standard 14 x 11" frame.  A friend just sent me pictures of artwork framed in IKEA frames, which was surprisingly beautiful.

The weather here in Chicago has been very cold---no snow, but cold.  A friend in California sent me some nasturtium, sunflower, and hollyhock seeds and that got me dreaming of being back in the gardens.  I never tire of painting flowers.  

I wish you all a very healthy and happy new year.  All it takes is just one slip up, and boom, you're exposed to covid.  May 2021 be filled with optimism and and peace.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1007-the-kiss-of-the-sun/852204

994 Friend of a Friend of a Friend

 I love nasturtiums, but was very disappointed that my attempts to grow them this year on my roof did not bring better results.  I'm not sure if the reason they did poorly is because it's too sunny, too much water, or the soil wasn't bad enough.  Oddly, such a sweet little flower likes poor soil.  I'm not giving up yet, and will try again next year.  One more thing, did you know that nasturtium flowers and leaves are edible?

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/994--friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend/832703

980 Up On The Roof

Without her knowing it, my daughter shamed me into painting outdoors today.  "It would be a great plein air painting day, Mom.  What's stopping you?" to which I replied with a number of excuses.  I have a new easel and I'm just not ready to paint in the city since I'm  (enter any one of many excuses here).  So I decided to paint on the roof to ease on into it.  My little flower garden on the roof is in full bloom and it wasn't too hot up there today.  There was a nice breeze and only once did my canvas blow off before I bungie corded it down.

My Art Ladies group went on several painting trips to beautiful places--New Mexico, California, Door County, Hilton Head----all were wonderful experiences.  That was many years ago.  Plein air painting is "NOT for sissies" as someone in our group described it, loads of fun but really hard work.  

I will promise myself to scope out places I am comfortable with to paint.  I have my eye on a charming little yellow house with a nice garden and a white picket fence not too far from my home.  There is an active group of Plein Air Painters Chicago, so someday maybe I will join them one day.  I did signed up to paint at the Chicago Botanical Gardens in late August, so I better get busy preparing so as not to embarrass myself.  

979 Be Still My Heart

I fell in love with nasturtiums 3 years ago when my garden club was scoping out gardens for our Quilts In The Garden Walk, which by the way was a crazy wild success.  We found the cutest little backyard garden completely filled with nasturtiums, spilling over sidewalks and their little pond, and that's the moment I fell in love with their beautiful leaves and flowers.  We planned the entire winter for quilts to accompany this beautiful garden.  The following spring, we visited the garden and discovered the homeowner had ripped out all the nasturtiums.  I was devastated, BUT their replacement garden was equally as beautiful and we went to Plan B.  Lesson learned.

973 Was It Something I Said?

I love tulips almost as much as I love my Jean Wells Smaglik vases and bowls.  If you follow my work, you may recall the blue and white oak leaf bowl or the morning glory bowl in many of my still lifes, which has been a favorite.  Jean is a Milwaukee potter and I love her method of scraping away the negative image of the design, called sgraffito.  Jean customized this bowl for me and it is the first time I've painted it.  It has three different color schemes---the bowl is divided in thirds, employing blue, red or black leaves depending on which way you turn it.  Here is a link to her website:  https://www.jeansclaystudio.com/  Not only is Jean a talented artist, she is one of the nicest people I've met, and she does so much for her community.  I love that about her.

Back to tulips.  I love them but they confuse the heck out of me.  They actually GROW once you put them in the vase.  Some drape over beautifully the way this artist hopes, or they stand at attention like soldiers.  I wish I knew how to predict what they are thinking.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/973-was-it-something-i-said/805708

970 Virtual Hugs

What I miss most during these isolated, socially distanced times are my (adult) children's hugs.  We are a family of "huggers" so this has been very difficult for us.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/970-virtual-hugs/802423

Please check out my new online store at:  https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/970-virtual-hugs/802423
There are lots of fun items being offered.

840 The Law of Atrtaction

I am enjoying my online Flower Portrait class and here is my first full painting.  There may be some tweaking to do, but I enjoyed the very slow process of it.  The artist who is teaching the course strongly believes in The Law of Attraction and he applies the concept to our painting.   It makes all the sense in the world to me.

"840 The Law of Atrtaction"
oil - 12x16 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/840-the-law-of-atrtaction/545611

665 Changing

The hydrangeas which used to be pink are now changing to a muted green, which was hard to capture.  I didn't really think this painting through, and I think it shows.  I just love the hydrangeas.

"665 Changing"
acrylic - 6x8 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/665-changing/403973

659 Old Fashioned

More of Vicki's beautiful hollyhocks.  They are all beautiful!

"659 Old Fashioned"
acrylic - 8x6 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/659-old-fashioned/399197

657 Reminiscence

My neighbor, Vicki is a fabulous gardener and I just realized today that she has hollyhocks growing in her garden!  Hollyhocks remind me of my childhood as we had them growing so tall in the alley behind our house when I was growing up.  I remember the bees especially liked their nectar.  Their beauty has stood the test of time.

Side note:  I painted this entire painting upside down.  Don't ask me how that happened, I don't even know, but it did.  I just know that I signed it and something felt wrong....could be that the pollen defied gravity. 

"657 Reminiscence"
acrylic - 8x6 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/657-reminiscence/398743