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

Love is a Many Splendored Thing

Need I say more?

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you.

"Love is a Many Splendored Thing"
oil - 12x9 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/love-is-a-many-splendored-thing/563047

843 Grace and Beauty

My online class is over and I really enjoyed it.  I still have much to learn.  I will continue to study and will take the lessons with me as I further develop my style and identity as an artist.

Working with oil paints is a much slower process and much more difficult than working with acrylics, in my opinion. I thought I had a lot of patience, but working with oil showed me that I need more.

"843 Grace and Beauty"
oil - 16x20 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/843-grace-and-beauty/560503

842 Miranda, Sweet Sixteen

As mentioned in a previous post, I am taking a Flower Portrait painting class online.  The instructor primarily paints multi petaled flowers such as garden roses and peonies, which are not readily available this time of year to the average person in Milwaukee.  A dear friend's daughter is a flower artist who composes uniquely gorgeous arrangements for weddings and special occasions (see www.milwaukeeflowercompany.com) so I asked if she had any leftover flowers I could purchase.  I was invited to visit and in my wildest dreams I could never have expected to be offered such a large bucket of the most beautiful pink roses called Miranda.  Apparently, her supplier sent the wrong color for the wedding she was working on, and couldn't use them.  They only had a day or two left in them, so I had to work fast.  I am sure I did not do them justice with so many lovely ins and outs of the petals, but I hope I captured the essence of these beauties.

"842 Miranda, Sweet Sixteen"
oil - 14x11 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/842-miranda-sweet-sixteen/558793

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

839 Practice

With the new online course I am taking, I am making several adjustments--medium (from acrylic to oil), a new palette of paint colors, and a new technique.  There is always so much to learn in the process of identifying and perfecting one's "craft."

I spent a lot of time today and yesterday mixing colors and practicing the floral portrait.  Yellow is my nemesis color so I painted one of the yellow roses and a red rose for the first assignment.   I will try to find white roses or another multi petaled flower to paint for upcoming assignments.  I am enjoying this learning process after one of those "uh oh, what have I done?" moments yesterday.

"839 Practice"
oil - 8x6 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/839-practice/543787

oil - 8x6 in

687 Three's a Crowd

"687 Three's a Crowd"
acrylic - 6x6 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/687-threes-a-crowd/411796

676 Art Ladies

The Art Ladies had a celebration last night in anticipation of our plein air painting trip this fall, and this was the hostess-with-the mostest's table centerpiece.  It was a delightful evening in every way!

"676 Art Ladies"
acrylic - 8x6 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/676-art-ladies/407686

672 No Worries

I am trying to loosen up with my painting.  It's really tough for me because my natural inclination is to want to keep at this.  It took every ounce of restraint not to add a lot of fussiness to these flowers.

The title of this painting, "No Worries" refers to a message to Lisa Dara Kennedy, who I have been hoping would come to my neck of the woods to conduct a workshop, that she has no worries about this artist ever infringing on her territory.  yikes.  I guess Lisa would rather teach in Italy than in Milwaukee.  Imagine that.   hmmmpff.  Ha ha, Lisa. 

"672 No Worries"
acrylic - 8x6 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/672-no-worries/405726

660. Gift of Love

My husband is one of a kind.  He buys flowers for me each and every week, taking great care to select flowers for the bouquet.  He encloses a little note with something pertinent for the day/week.  I particularly loved this combination of coral roses and lavender roses, and liked how it looked in the red dining room.    Yep, he's a keeper!

"660.  Gift of Love"
acrylic - 8x6 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/660--gift-of-love/399342

642 Sweet William

Bouquets of Sweet William were plentiful at the Farmers' Market.  I have never grown them but suspect they must be early bloomers.  The sunflowers were from the Chicago Farmers' Market, but possibly were grown in Indiana.

Meanwhile in my garden, the big fat rabbits are eating my favorites---bachelor's buttons, liatris, and several others---even marigolds!  Aren't rabbits supposed to dislike marigolds?  I have put three different repellants down.  I wish the owls would come grocery shopping in my yard.

"642 Sweet William"
acrylic - 7x5 in
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/642-sweet-william/393915

641 Sunny Side

This is one of 24 small arrangements we used for the garden club dinner.  Each table had three birdhouses and three small floral arrangements. 

"641 Sunny Side"
acrylic - 6x8 in
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/641-sunny-side/393594

617 Celebrate Friendship

I could have called this painting "Blubbering" because that's what I did when I received this floral delivery today.  I was so surprised and touched by this thoughtful gesture from a dear friend, who sent me this arrangement to celebrate my art showing at a favorite gallery.  I took artistic liberties to paint it in one of my blue and white bowls in official celebration of this special weekend.   I am nervous and excited, and I certainly feel loved by the overwhelming outpouring of good wishes and kind gestures.  It is all very humbling, touching and .....I don't even have the words.  It's a wonderful feeling. 

347 Roses in a Mercury Glass Vase

This sweet little arrangement was given to me for my birthday last year and I've been itching to paint it since then.  The mercury glass presented a barrier, but I was up for the challenge today, and am happy with the results.  Lesson learned:  It happens in due time.

275. Reprieve

It has been miserably cold here in Milwaukee, where all the schools and some businesses have been closed.  I'm cold and crabby, and today needed something cheerful to paint.  The other day,  I snapped a photo of a flower arrangement in the grocery store floral refrigerator, and it was just what I needed to paint today. 

I am focusing on learning to use fewer strokes in my paintings.  It is not as easy as it looks, in fact, it is very difficult.  I have made progress with my tree paintings, but flowers are a real challenge.