Thursday, June 02, 2011

Iris from life

It's always good to get your observational skills honed by painting from life, but I'm ashamed to admit that I rarely do so.  I don't enjoy painting out of doors, there are too many distractions and the light changes constantly.  Last week a single flower snapped from its stem and I brought it inside to paint it quickly, before it wilted.

Wasn't it a stunner?  My friend Janet said "that's not a flower, it's a floozy!" and I agree!  I went straight in with the paintbrush, no pencil sketch, and was amazed at how well it turned out.  I added an invented stem and foliage and here's the result:

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's lovely. I love flowers and wish I could paint them better.
Jean

Studio at the Farm said...

It is lovely, Ruth, and an inspiration to paint from LIFE!

Sadami said...

Hi, Ruth,
Sooo beautiful!! Delicate and sensitive touch. I love them all.
Cheers, Sadami

Christiane Kingsley said...

Ruth, it's absolutely gorgeous.

Cora said...

I like your loose style and the delicate color.

Unknown said...

Jean, when I started painting I felt like you, but I worked hard at improving and eventually felt happy with my flowers. It takes careful observation - look for the different colours in the flower, how the light hits the petals as they turn, these things bring the work to life :)

Studio at the Farm, thank you, I'm going to try to do so more often!

Thank you dear Sadami!

Christiane you're very kind, thank you!

Hello Cora, thank you!

Cynthia Schelzig said...

I have been painting a lot of the Iris lately too and you nailed this one...a real stunner!

AtelierBrigitte said...

I love your loose way in your watercolors.

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