A Painting for Nancy and Fred's Florida Condo or For Me if It Doesn't Work For Them!!

Nancy and Fred bought a condo in Florida which is very charming! They are happy with how they set it up, but far be it from me to leave well enough alone!! I saw a painting at an art fair and it inspired me to attempt a good sized painting for them in similar colors.  Here's a shot, from a distance in order not to be found out, the source of the inspiration:

Inspiration

Apologies to the lady who got in the way.  The painting is filled with grey, yellows, light beige, and white colors, which match the primary colors in Nancy and Fred's condo.  So that's why I thought it would be lovely for them to have something like that.

Now, the only issue for me is not the image: shouldn't be hard to find something that's very Florida in my own photos (like orchids or hibiscus). The issue for me is the color scheme: none of my favorites are here such as blues, greens, etc. So I'll be working outside my comfort zone.

I have let Nancy and Fred know that they are in no way obligated to accept the painting. That lets them off the hook (and me too). So I'll be finishing work on the image I want to use and then stretching some canvas.  I've chosen 28" x 48" as the size, so if I blow it, I blow it big!


Here's the canvas, stretched and ready to go.  There is a pencil drawing of the painting on the canvas already, although I will spend more time on the drawing before I start to paint.

Orchid Cascade #1

Next step was to decide on a color for the background and lay that on.  This helps with finalizing the drawing as well as setting the color tones for the painting. I chose a grey/purple tone as a proxy for the grey/brown tones in Fred and Nancy's condo. 

Orchid Cascade #2 

I think this is a very good start (unusually good for my work) for the painting.  My job will  be to work off this solid design and keep the lightness and airy feeling alive.  I plan to keep the orchids very light in color, with varying shades of white and grey.  The centers will have small amounts of yellow and gold as highlights.  Haven't figured out the stems, but I'm thinking silver tones. I've ordered some silver colored oil paint which should be here when I get back after the holidays.

Ok, so, I just couldn't resist getting into the painting and seeing what I could do the day before leaving.  Here is a sequence of photos showing how the painting evolved across one day of intense effort:

Orchid Cascade #3

Orchid Cascade #4

Orchid Cascade #5

I can see that I need to edit the top of the third orchid, to fix the perspective.  Shouldn't be a big deal to do that. Of course, the hardest part of the painting will be the centers of the orchids, where I'm going to try to use some contrast colors, and the stems, which I'm hoping will work with black or silver paint, or perhaps yellow, or perhaps, who knows!! That will, in fact, have to wait until I get back in January.

Ok, so I just got back, celebrated New Years, and now I'm ready to go!! The next step for this painting, now that the new tubes of silver paint have been received, is to wade into the centers of the orchids and get some silver and yellow paint going.  I started with the flowers on the right side of the painting, and then tackled the one on the left. Also put some paint on the stems, just to see how they were doing. Stu suggested brighter yellow colors, but I'm going to proceed as planned and see how it turns out first.

Here's the painting as it looks now:

Orchid Cascade #6

I think this is working out pretty well, so far. Want to fix some drawing issues on the left side before going into the last flower. The silver paint is doing a nice job in highlights on the petals, so will fool around with that some more in a few days when things are dryer.

Worked for several hours today trying to get the entire canvas covered with paint.  All is covered now except for the middle of the second orchid. I have tried to build in the yellow highlights and to balance the colors in the various petals and little more. This has reduced some of the contrast, but will make it more possible to build in some interesting highlights later on.  I also experimented with a slightly darker background on the right side, and I don't think that will stay.

Orchid Cascade #7

In the next painting session, I plan to push most of the green paint aside which is in the bulbs, and centers of the two open flowers. Also, want to build in more detail on the flower petals of the first two orchids, and lighten the dark area in the first flower.  In addition, will lighten the background all over the painting. This last go round lost some of the interesting colors at the middle of the first orchid, so need to also address that.

After several days of work, which included changing the color of the background and wading back into all the flowers, the painting has taken on more blue color than I originally planned.  I like it better this way, so want to keep it. The color scheme that I started with just didn't work for whatever reason, and I'm content with the change.  Here is the latest version of the painting (the flash on the camera created some flashes in the background which aren't actually there):

Orchid Cascade #8

The photo looks more blue all over than the actual painting is. In the next session, I'm going to add some purple color to some of the highlights in the first and second orchids, and in the buds. That should essentially complete the painting, except for some clean up in the center of the first two orchids.  In the original photo, there are orange/red dots on the inside petals which I will consider putting on.  Close enough to completion to paint my name on the side, something that I usually do before the painting is done, but toward the end.

After several days of wipe on/wipe off, my usual mode of painting, I'm thinking that the painting is complete for now.  The next step is to take it to Nancy and Fred's condo and see what it looks like there. This will help determine if it is actually complete, or whether, for example, more color is needed in the background, or, as I've been considering, some faint leaf shapes in the background to break up the color.

Orchid Cascade #9

I'm baack!!! Here we are months later and back in Florida. Time to work on the painting.  First step was to take the painting to Fred and Nancy's condo and see how it looks.  After putting the painting in their living room, we could see that my resorting to blue colors to substitute for grey did not work and the flowers would need to be redone with grayer colors. 

Orchid Cascade #10

Fred suggested that I also add yellow to the background to help the flowers stand out.  In addition, after adding a lot of purple and grey paint, I realized that it might help to add some more color to the flowers. I added turquoise and some  green just to see what that would do and I was happy with the result. Next step is to up the amount of yellow in the background. Plan is to wait for the paint to dry in the painting, and then lighten and colorize the flowers a little more. This seems to be worked and I'm happy with where the painting is going.

Here is the painting in what is close to finished.  I've added some more highlights to bring out some of the new colors, but think that it is essentially done. Next step is to get it back to the condo and see whether it "flies."

Orchid Cascade #11

It has been said that no oil painting is ever completed until it is removed from the artist's studio!Accordingly,  I returned to the painting over the last few days to see if I could punch it up.  After viewing it in its frame, and also on the wall of the condo, I realized that it needed more work.  I increased the color of the background to one that I think is closer to the yellow in the condo, and I worked on the colors of the flowers to increase the purple hue  In addition, I worked on the outlining of the flowers to give more accent and as an opportunity to add more color. With these changes, I feel better about the painting and I anticipate that there won't be any more changes. But then again...

Orchid for Fred and Nancy
Oil: 28" x 48"
2016

Here are Nancy and Fred with their painting at the condo in Florida.  I think, all considered, it came out well and looks very nice in their space.

Muriel's Pitcher

I love Muriel, and I love this image of her blue pitcher which she uses as a flower vase.  I took a photo of the pitcher and then added in my own image of lilies.  There's a small version of this painting in our home in Philadelphia. Here is a photo of that smaller painting:

Muriel's Pitcher

For Florida, with it's terrific light and large walls, I decided to do this painting at 48" x 36."  Although I don't usually blog my process, unless I'm doing something for someone else, my good friend Nola asked me to blog this one and so here it is.

As I started this painting, I realized that I didn't have a photo of the original pitcher, but that I did have photos of the lilies. So I knew right off that I would be at a disadvantage visually on the pitcher, but of course, that  didn't stop me! Since Nola didn't ask me about blogging the painting until I had shown her one of it underway, I don't have any early photos.  I decided the slim the pitcher down, however, in order to accentuate the gesture. Here's the first photo that I took:

Muriel's pitcher #1

The basic layout of the painting is done and the canvas is covered with paint.  I felt that the leaf colors are wrong, but not ready to figure them out.  Also, the flowers are very unformed,and the background color too flat. Nice start, but blah!

However, the tradeoff for pushing ahead is that you can get a mess, which actually started happening fairly quickly!!

Muriel's Pitcher #2

Now the background is streaky and it hasn't accomplished a whole lot.  The outlines on the flowers are a beginning only. Also, as I attempted to make the pistil and stamens more pronounced, they weren't quite right either.  

Muriel's pitcher #3

Here I've shortened and put more shape and detail into the flower petals, and I've started to put more texture into the background.  Still dark on the right side, but necessary to give the flower a chance to show up.  There is more depth in the painting so I'm happy about that.  Leaves are still the wrong color, but I've started breaking that up using some sky blue and aqua. This all needs to dry before I get back into the background and work that up, but the pitcher also needs some work as there is too much white in it.  I'll go back to the original painting for detailing there. will wait a few days to let the background and leaf paint rest.

Started in on the purple background and I like this color a lot better.  Left the purple in some strategic spots, though, so we'll see how that works.  Started reducing the leaf colors and that's going better.  Also worked on the stamens/pistils and the reddish color at the ends. Worked up the petals better. Not quite there. The flower on the right is finished (haha).

Muriel's Pitcher #4

Next I'll work on finishing the pitcher and the bottom of the painting which needs some shadowing and not that mess thing that I put there. Then back to the leafs to give some detailing.  Close to done done done done (a la Dragnet….).

Ok, well here is the latest iteration of the painting.  I'm working all over, except at the bottom.  Added more paint to the pitcher and scoped out more of the reflections and shadows.  Worked on the middle flower to give it more definition. This consisted of doing, undoing, doing, undoing etc etc (wipe on, wipe off…) until exhaustion.  Also lightened the leafs. Unfortunately, the smaller one is looking more like zucchini squash so that's not good.

Muriel's Pitcher #5

But, it is starting to look more like a finished painting. Something to be said for that. It's better than the original painting, I think, and it's better than how it started.  That's not always (usually?) the case so we march ever onward.

The painting is hanging in the dining room. It can hang there and reproach me indefinitely. After several days "off," I've waded back in to work on the background and tune up the flowers. Also worked on the bottom of the painting and, just to make me feel good, signed my name. But there is a shadow missing at the bottom of the painting. I'm thinking I'll get a similar vase, light it, and see what the shadow should be. Later cakey...

Ok, so I waited. Amazing how the painting doesn't change while I'm gone! Anyway, spent some time yesterday and today working on the bottom of the painting and the leaves, and the vase, and the flower bud (in other words, on everything but the flowers!). I didn't like the color of the leaves so worked on them. Also wanted to lighten the left side of the painting where the light is theoretically come from. I also "lit" a blue vase to get an idea for what the shadows should look like. So that led me to the bottom of the painting and to do some more on the vase itself. But, I didn't do a lot, and the shadow on the table is pretty tentative, but it's there.

Muriel's Pitcher #6

Next step would be to work more on the pathetic shadow, although as I look at the photo it's not half bad as it straggles across the table.  I also want to get some shadowing down behind the vase on the wall and get rid of one of the diagonal light streaks on the base (the one that's, of course, in the middle...).  The streaky dark areas behind the vase could be smoothed out into a shadow idea.  So, it's coming along and I'm not unhappy (yet--hah!).

Its occurs to me that an awful lot of time goes into some pretty subtle changes that most folks wouldn't be able to even see in these photos.  But, what is life without some struggle????

Back to the painting, and this time, just working on the shadows. I also wanted to pick up the background a notch and I did this by following the contours of the vase as I also wanted to lighten the left side of the painting. Still need to work on the shadow on the table, but it's going in the right direction.  Also got the shadow on the wall behind the vase going, so happy with that.

Muriel's Pitcher #7

Did a little more work on the shadowing at the bottom of the painting.  It's on the wall in the dining room for the next while as i begin a new painting for my brother and sister-in-law's condo in Florida.  The shadowing is complete on the table and behind the vase and with exception of some fairly outlandish streaks of paint here and there, which I might wade back in to work on, the painting is for all intents and purposes (hah) complete.

Bubble Wrap Woman's Blues

The Bubble Wrap family, consisting of a man, woman, child, and baby, were created in 2004 for a sculpture class.  Here is the final installment of the story of Bubble Wrap Woman, the only surviving member of the family.

Bubble Wrap Woman is very upset about our selling 12 Herber Ave. After all, she, Bubble Wrap Man, Bubble Wrap Child, and Bubble Wrap Baby were all conceived here and it’s the only home she has ever known.  She enjoyed the years of participating in family activities, when they occurred on various couches and chairs, and involved mainly sitting. She also survived several near amputations of various limbs, and needed emergency surgery on her left knee, right shoulder, and one of her hips. Despite these setbacks, she seemed to enjoy living at 12 Herber. She never said as much, but I could tell.

Bubble Wrap Woman was very strong. She suffered the indignity of being placed in the second floor TV room closet for a long stretch, only to emerge triumphant to resume her place on the futon. She survived her grief at losing Bubble Wrap Child and Bubble Wrap Infant, who departed fairly early in life to explore the local land fill and never returned. And, you may remember her loss of Bubble Wrap Man a few years ago. He collapsed by the side door and needed to be carried to his final resting place. All that she experienced with nary a word, a moan, or anything, really. 

But now, Bubble Wrap Woman (BWW) has become despondent. She had cheered up before thinking that she would be going on a new adventure with Wendy and Stu. But, to her dismay, there were so many other possessions been packed and so many boxes taped up and ready to go. None of these boxes had been reserved for BWW. So that made her sad, not, shall we say, her usual bubbly self.

At first, she considered suicide by laying herself down on the stairs hoping someone would step on her and pop all her bubbles.  

Then, she requested that she be recycled as a safety wrap for one of the lamps we were packing. 

She tried to hide in one of the closets,  thinking we would miss her so much she would have to be taken  along:

She also tried sitting in  the car to illustrate her strong desire to be included:

Her car idea wasn't bad, it was, however, premature and we wouldn't be leaving for another week and that's a long time to sit outside.  Other approaches were necessary. Therefore, she tried packing herself, but that box was for Wendy's computer and the other boxes were either too small or already full

She tried the file cabinet, but didn't fit:

She thought long and hard about what to do to improve  her chances of being brought along to Philly:

It was exhausting...

One last idea was the laundry hamper:

But her hand got stuck:

And this happened!! She also dislocated her neck and shoulder...

So, this was her final resting spot. Since she was born in Delmar, there she was destined to remain.  The lesson here is that change can happen, even radical change, but sometimes you have to wait!!

End of the Bubble Wrap Woman saga, so far…

But wait! Hold on. Not so fast: it has been well documented that bubble wrap has a long shelf life, and that means  bubble wrap people can be resurrected.  Bubble Wrap Woman could show up in Philly.  You never know.