1252. Personality Plus

 

This painting and the one prior, 1251. Bright Spot were both inspired by the same photos of a bouquet my husband recently bought.  I like this interpretation more and hope to continue on this path.  

My natural method is to paint what I see realistically (a "police report").   But I want to paint a "poem."  I think this is a little closer, somewhere between complete whimsy and realism.  

"Police report/poem" analogy courtesy of Chicago artist, Steve Puttrich.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1252-personality-plus/1140967

1241. Ingenuity

 Happy Friday! I've been continuing my exploration of simplifing floral paintings. It's very difficult as I am a detail conscious person. In "Ingenuity" I picked an unexpected color for the background--pink and yellow? Also am experimenting with a black glaze wiped back to give an aged look. Must try a sepia color next. Color is a little exaggerated--can't seem to get it right today.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1241-ingenuity/1105235

1128 Freshly Squeezed

 The little lemon juicer was a gift from friends many years ago who visited Italy.  Having visited Italy and Sicily since then, I discovered that lemons are a very big deal there, and the lemon motif is everywhere.  I saw the same little bird on many different ceramics.  I think it looks cute with the flower arrangement.  The painting was started during the summer, and the flowers were from my rooftop garden.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1128-freshly-squeezed/973962

1094 Solar Power

 I almost felt guilty buying sunflowers at the farmers' market when I grow them on my roof, but I couldn't resist the unusual colors of the red ones and the mauve/white ones, which I don't grow.  Unfortunately the only sunflowers flourishing that I could (barely) reach are the little yellow ones on the top of the arrangements.  

By the way, I have had many inquiries about note cards featuring my paintings.    I will have two sets of six of my Strada Easel Challenge paintings bundled together for a very reasonable price.   Also, most any of my paintings can be featured as note cards, as an alternative, in case you have favorites.  Please contact me via email if you are interested in more details or would like to place an order.  My email address is:   dianecampion@gmail.com

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1094-solar-power/936829

1070 For the Birds

 

The sunflowers on my roof are winding down, petals falling with any little breeze or motion.  I hate to see them go.  The birds have been pecking away at the seeds, so I suppose I will leave the mammoth stalks in the ground of the elevated containers for them to enjoy the seeds.  I love this little polka dotted box because it reminds me of my very first friend and neighbor in Milwaukee.  We used to pass it back and forth with little gifts for birthdays, etc.  It "appeared" at our back doors, always bringing joy to the recipient.  I miss her.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1070-for-the-birds/926368

1066 The Birds and the Bees

September 8.  I was initially very infatuated with the color color in the photo below, but have since tired of it in such a large quantity.  I still continue to tone my backgrounds with it.  The photo above reflects the new background color.

 I practically had to fight the birds and bees around the sunflowers on the roof to gain access to the flowers.  

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1066-the-birds-and-the-beads/925152

1052 Merrily, Merrily, Merrily

 Slowly but surely, and with lots of practice, I am letting loose of old habits and embracing some new techniques for my paintings.  I have always painted what I see, but in this case, the pitcher and cup were white and the vase was mostly dark blue.  I keep thinking of Chicago local artist/mentor and teacher, Steve Puttrich's saying, "It's a poem, not a police report."  I love that idea,  and repeat it to myself often when I find myself getting too fussy.

So what do you think?

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1052--merrily-merrily-merrily/903672

1051 Summertime and the Living is Easy

 I got a lot of mileage out of these sunflowers and other props during my week long painting class last week.  Sunflowers are such a happy flower and brighten up any room.  I am growing them in my garden this year and they are growing to be enormous.  I was given the seeds by my friend Roberta and I had no idea what kind of sunflowers they would be, but now I see they are bigger than life!  Hopefully they will FIT in a painting.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1051-summertime-and-the-living-is-easy/902901

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.

1013 Stop and Smell the Flowers

 This is the second time I painted this subject.  The first painting went to my BFF for her birthday.

It's really a good learning experience to paint the same subject many times as the masters did.  It enables a painter to become more intimately involved with the subject.  I've been on the hunt for more pitchers.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1013-stop-and-smell-the-flowers/859786

1011 Grateful For The Simple Things

 You may notice that this painting looks an awful lot like 1011 Copy Cat, which was an online class assignment from Trisha Adams.  While I was very happy with the original, I didn't feel it was "my" painting, so I made some changes to it while still implementing the lessons I learned from Trisha.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1011-grateful-for-the-simple-things/856009

1012 The Sunshine Of My Life

 I loved painting this and employing all the knowledge I learned from Trisha Adams in her online course.  What a wonderful teacher she is.  The photo reference is Trisha's and the assignment was to lose three edges and decide on the focal point.  

It seems everyone loves sunflowers, and so many songs feature this happy flower.  Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is certainly my favorite.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1012-the-sunshine-of-my-life/855121

984 The Optimist, the Pessimist and the Realist

I was given some fancy sunflower seeds in the Spring, and was so happy to watch them grow tall in their pot on my roof, so every time I climb the stairs, their unruly petals greet me with sunshine.  Each stem has 3 or 4 flowers in a clump, but this was the first bloom, so they aren't visible.  While painting this, I made many trips up to the roof to get the colors right.  

I notice some of the seeds are missing, so I am assuming I have had visitors to my garden.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/984-the-optimist-the-pessimist-and-the-realist/820718

 

974 Sunflower Polka

This is another painting inspired by a splat of black paint.  I added more polka dots for drama.  I thought the sunflowers look like they are dancing, except for the stuffy one who is sitting it out.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/974-sunflower-polka/806694

Check out my online store of items featuring my Rorschach-inspired paintings:  

diane-campion.pixels.com

972 Sunshine and Teddy Bears

What's old is new, right?  Take an old outfit and add something to it to make it more fitting for the times.  Right.  Well the same goes for paintings.  When you bring them out of retirement, sometimes you see things that you can't live with anymore.......like the screaming blue background that was here before.  This is better.

The fuzzy flowers on the left are Teddy Bear sunflowers.  They're really cute.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/972-sunshine-and-teddy-bears/804178

907 Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

I painted this directly from an arrangement in my studio--dahlias and sunflowers in my Jean Wells oak leaf bowl, a favorite.  Sunflowers seem to be lots of people's "happy" flower,  and dahlias, as beautiful as they are, are definitely a challenge to paint in my humble opinion.

Smokey Robinson and Ron White from (Smokey Robinson and) The Miracles co-wrote the song, "My Girl" which was recorded by the Temptations in 1964.  It was written about Smokey's wife, who was also part of the Miracles.  I love the song, and these words are the only title I could come up with.

"907 Sunshine on a Cloudy Day"
acrylic - 12x16 in

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/907-sunshine-on-a-cloudy-day/706416

906 Market Sunflowers

I love going to the Farmers' Market and hate to see it end in late October.  The flowers are always so fresh and bring me so much joy.  The birds ate all my sunflowers on my rooftop garden, but that's okay.

"906 Market Sunflowers"
acrylic - 8x6 in

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/906-market-sunflowers/705570

892 Sunshine Farm

On the ride home from Door County a few years ago, I came across this beautiful farm with fields of sunflowers.  It was such a charming scene, in my mind.  Much to my dismay, the sunflowers were gone the following year and replaced with corn fields.

This painting has sold.

831 Competition

Jean Wells is a Milwaukee potter who makes beautiful art.  I started collecting her bowls and platters many years ago.  I particularly liked her oak leaf,and morning glory themed items, and have painted the bowls so many times in still lifes.  Recently she brought the oak leaf pattern out of retirement, and I purchased two of her vases.  This is the second one painted this week--same sunflowers but the shorter vase.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/831-competition/520884

830 Leading Lady

I purchased the sunflowers and set them up in my new Jean Wells vase on my still life table.  It was fun to paint a small painting again after so much time.

"830 Leading Lady"
acrylic - 8x6 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/830-leading-lady/520433

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