Blog

After viewing a post on face book featuring finger painting , I immediately wanted to try this as  it is always exciting to try a new technique.   You know pretty quickly rather this will work for you.  Like knife painting this is not for the faint of heart.  Working with so much paint can get a little messy.  I knew the very second I sliced my knife into a glob of oil paint - the knife was the way I wanted to go.  And laying on a glop (is that a word?) of oil paint to the tip of my fingers and dancing it across the canvas.....  it just felt right for me.  I am certain finger painting

will be a part of my art work.  After painting  "Taking a Chance" and two smaller finger paintings, I realized that I had to find my own way with this technique and I really do not like painting with gloves on....my fingers now look like I have been work in the coal mines.  I will have to give it another try or load up on nail polish.  

Any comments on this would be appreciated.  

I considered this a finished painting - signed my name and set it aside to dry.  I was ready to take it off to the gallery,  looked a little more closely and was not too excited with what I was looking at.  Now it is not an easy task to make changes to a very heavy textured knife painting. However, I was going to give it a try.  Back to the drawing board.   Placed it  on the easel for a closer look. Decided to intensify the background with deeper blues...looking better.  Added more grasses around the poppies...um better still but still not quite there.  With nothing to lose,  I laid out different colors on my palette - scooped up a gob of juicy paint on the tip of my knife and flicked colors all over the canvas.  WOW I loved it -even re-named it.  This procedure is not for the faint at heart.  I had more paint on me than on the canvas.  I kid you not, it was in my hair...all over my face ...my neck  - soooo much fun.  Can't wait to do another one. 

I painted this floral and set it aside where it lay dormain for a while.  It just wasn't grabbing me.  Finally I decided to hang it at the top of my stairs - it did add the little color that I was looking for.  Later,  as I was walking up the stairs, the sun was hitting the painting and suddenly it did not just come to life;  it literally sparkled.  It was no longer the wallflower at the dance - it was the belle of the ball.  The million of tiny flowers - little specks of yellows, blues,aqua and white daisies along with citrus green grasses played up the firey poppies against a soft blue sky.  This is the stuff dreams are made of....and artist are always chasing a dream.

Chase your dream until you run out of breath...........then, keep running.  

I love the size of this painting....12" x 48".

Imagine the places it could be hung.  Perfect behind the sofa - as a headboard - over a group of paintings...the list is endless.  I have painted hundreds of poppies and I have to say that this is one of my favorites.  The cool blues of the sky is the perfect compliment for these scarlet ladies which are nestled among a multitude of tiny flowers.  All this is done in a very heavy texture.

Unfortunately due to the dimensions of this painting it does not photo well, therefore the picture does not do it justice.

I would love to hear from you -

The first invitational show that I entered - the first painting to sell was one of my poppies and I have been painting and selling them ever since.  Usually I tried to compliment the poppies with other flowers.  However, this one is all about those flirty, saucy poppies.  Again I finished this painting with my magic little knife by bouncing color and life all over my canvas.  This must be done with complete abandonment and freedom.  Knife painting is not for sissies.