Acrylic Painting - The Red Tulips

In the Sunlight
30" x 36" acrylic on canvas by Flora Doehler SOLD
at the Flight of Fancy, Bear River Nova Scotia

After months of flower deprivation, it was so exciting to find tulips for sale in the grocery store mid winter. One of the disadvantages of living in southwest Nova Scotia is the almost complete absence of flowers in the wintertime - except for expensive roses.

Red tulips against the snow. I would 'fake' a spring backdrop for my painting.

I have a strong need to paint from life so this aspect of life here is a real challenge for me.! It is a great feeling to be present with a living flower and to sense the life force of it. Sometimes I paint from photographs I've taken, but it's not as satisfying an experience for me.

The first marks on the canvas are the hardest.

Although I try to abstract the scene and even change what I am actually looking at,  when a painting is working for me, I  get lost in it and I feel like I am channelling the essence of the object of my gaze.

At this stage, my focus is the colours.

Every painting evolves differently. Some come easily, others are trickier and need more time. The trick is to stay fresh and positive about it. Just like with life's challenges!

This painting went through quite a few stages and changes before I finished it. You can watch this development in the movie I've made for you.

I decided to create large areas of calmness in the painting–a departure from my usual style of creating texture and movement on every square inch of the canvas! The architectural shapes in the work let me experiment with mixing geometrical and organic shapes.

I really liked the dripping paint on the bottom of the canvas, but I finally had to let it go and tone it down so that it wouldn't compete with the drama of the tulips.

I love the way tulips nod their heads. The shapes of their leaves and stems are so beautiful and delicate. I really enjoyed being in the tulip universe while painting this.

You can visit my painting at the Flight of Fancy gallery in Bear River where it is for sale.

Copper Enamel Necklaces Launch this Weekend

Larry and I have been busy at Green Willow Studio creating beautiful, one-of-a-kind pendants with copper enamel. This is our first collaboration and it's been a lot of fun combining my color sense with Larry's metal work expertise.  We are very excited to launch our new work this weekend and we hope you can be part of this!

2" domed copper with opaque and transparent enamels.

On Saturday morning we'll be at the Farmer's and Artist's Market in Annapolis Royal, right beside one of my favorite stores in the world, the Lucky Rabbit Pottery.

On Sunday afternoon we will set up at the market on the waterfront in Bear River.

Drop by and say hi and take a look at our jewelery, my paintings and Larry's metal work. There will be lots of vendors there with beautiful new creations for you as well as tasty treats like lavender shortbread cookies and the best fair trade coffee ever. Yum!

Testing out the set up in the studio.

3/4" x 2 3/4" rectangular hammered copper with opaque enamels, hung on a leather necklace with sterling silver clasp and jump ring.

2" chased and hammered copper with opaque and transparent enamels.

2" hammered copper with opaque and transparent enamels.

1 1/2"  copper with opaque and transparent enamels and glass beads.

Add caption

2" hammered copper with opaque and transparent enamels.

2" hammered copper with opaque and transparent enamels. (front)

2" hammered copper with opaque and transparent enamels. (back)

2"  copper with opaque and transparent enamels and glass threads.

2"  copper with opaque and transparent enamels and melted beads.

New Paintings for the Gallery in Bear River

Hello again! Where does the time go? I've been busy in the studio finishing up canvases to take to the gallery at the Flight of Fancy here in Bear River as the tourism season approaches.  It's feels good to finish up these pieces and to make more space in the studio for new work.

In the Sunlight
30" x 36" acrylic on canvas by Flora Doehler $1200 CAN
at the Flight of Fancy, Bear River Nova Scotia

In the Sunlight was painted while snow still covered the field outside our studio which made it even more thrilling to study these tulips.....actually 2 different bouquets because it took me a while to finish this painting.

Feeling Sentimental
24" x 30" acrylic on canvas by Flora Doehler $900 CAN
at the Flight of Fancy, Bear River Nova Scotia

Feeling Sentimental was painteds with acrylics using a wet-in-wet approach. I wanted to get a dreamy mood to the painting to convey the joy of a summer's garden bouquet. I started this late last fall when the blooms were still coming, and finished it over the winter.

Gladiolas
24" x 30" oil on canvas by Flora Doehler $1200 CAN
at the Flight of Fancy, Bear River Nova Scotia

I painted Gladiolas using a combination of oilpaint and oil sticks. I love the smell of oil paint and would eventually like to replace my acrylics with it. I enjoy building up texture with oil and I also like the line I can get with the oil sticks.

Hidden in the Shadows
24" x 30" acrylic on canvas by Flora Doehler $975 CAN
at the Flight of Fancy, Bear River Nova Scotia

I blogged about painting Hidden in the Shadows. I really liked its outcome and feel inspired to explore more interiors in my painting.

The Green Trees Whispered
24" x 30" acrylic on canvas by Flora Doehler $850 CAN
at the Flight of Fancy, Bear River Nova Scotia

The title The Green Trees Whispered is taken from a Longfellow poem. This bucolic scene is my interpretation of the view out of one of our studio windows. We are up the hill from the river and these trees serve as a wind break and are always moving and dancing. I love the sound of the wind in the trees. It sounds like an ancient conversation.

It feels great to move these paintings downtown where I hope they will find happy homes! If you are curious about any of them, please let me know and I'll try to answer your questions in a timely manner!!

There is no actual rest though. The garden beckons and we must prepare for the upcoming outdoor markets int Bear River (Sunday afternoons) and Annapolis Royal (Saturday mornings). But, it's all good!