Pearly White

"Pearly White"
5" x 5"
$75
I loved the papery wrinkles on the petals of this hibiscus. They resembled the tissue that cradles oranges from damage when they're shipped. I saw a painting with that very tissue paper when I visited the Art and Appetite show at the Art Institute in Chicago on Thursday. Click here to see for yourself.  

She's not a rose, but she's pretty soft, delicate and feminine.

Carol

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Verve

"Verve"
24" x 24"
Oil on wrapped canvas 
When I talked with my friend about painting this hibiscus from a photo I took at the Lincoln Park Conservatory on Monday of this week, my concern was entirely about maintaining the verve I had captured in the photograph. I do believe I did it! 

Today was a rainy day in Chicagoland. Okay, we had 4" of rain today, so it was a perfect day to paint ALL day. I began this at eight o'clock this morning and finished it at eleven o'clock tonight.  "Alla prima." In one sitting, wet on wet.  I ate, meditated, napped and ate again, but that is all I did once I began. I love rainy days.  

Carol

Scarlet Hibiscus

"Scarlet Hibiscus"
10" x 8"
Oil on wrapped canvas
I found this hibiscus in a pot at my local greenhouse last spring. I photographed it and many of her sisters, but haven't painted from those images until now. This is a study on a small canvas for one that may end up as a large square for a one person exhibit I have in July. 

Here's another example of my new favourite colour, Cadmium Scarlet.  I'll be looking for things to paint using this colour.

Carol

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Pink Hibiscus

"Pink Hibiscus"
18" x 18"
Oil on wrapped canvas
She faced straight into the camera with a headlong glance, more like a formal portrait than my casual intent. She posed. I clicked. It worked. 

Various shades of pink and green were swirled across this canvas with cubes of sponge; one for each color of red, each color of green, to keep the glazed colors from getting muddy.

This painting is listed with, and for sale through Dailypaintworks.com

Thank you for visiting,
Carol

Lady Hibiscus


Hibiscus
12" x 12"
Oil on gessoed panel

She wore a pleated white skirt, cinched with a scarlet sash around her slender waist. An audience watched, green with envy, as Lady Hybiscus twirled her skirts in the breeze. 

Complements again. I've discovered this about myself; I seem to find the most comfort in painting with a complementary palette.  Nature provides a lot of opportunities to derive that kind of comfort.

This painting is listed with, and for sale through Dailypaintworks.com

Thank you for visiting,
Carol 

Jubilant Hibiscus


"Jubilant Hibiscus"
16" x 20"
Oil on wrapped canvas

This jubilant hibiscus and eleven more like her had just been offloaded from a truck when I pulled into the garden center.  Snow was still drifted against the greenhouse where she'd remain until all threats of frost were over.  


I painted this with a brush, as I had done most of my paintings until two years ago.  It was a nice painting, but lacked an overall warmth.  When she was totally dry I glazed over parts of her with a touch of cad yellow.  I used a piece of sponge to buff in the essence of sunshine. She's no longer just nice.

Thank you for visiting,
Carol