540 Poppies

Poppies

oil on canvas

8x24"

$300

     These are California Poppies that came up in my yard at the beginning of this summer. They grow everywhere. Sometimes they cover a hillside like a thick golden blanket. Sometimes they grow through a crack in the sidewalk. They are dear flowers, but they make painting difficult because they are so simple that your eye does not believe what it is seeing; and their orange and yellow against a blue sky looks almost childish, though beautiful.

     In this painting, I tried for a "surprise color" and surprised myself with the periwinkle blue that showed up in the stems.

Matilija 2

Matilija 2

Oil on Canvas

12x9"

$216

     The matilija poppies are big wonderful wildflowers growing everywhere in early summer. They are known as the Queen of California Wildflowers. (Some people think they look like fried eggs.) They are large, maybe 6" or more across. They are pretty fabulous to see growing in huge clusters as you drive along. Painting them is a good discipline in painting white.

Post Office Poppies #2

Post Office Poppies #2

Oil on Canvas

6x18"

$110

     A host of bright red poppies! How to paint each one and yet give the image a focal point. I think the thing to do is to make some of them touching to create a shape that draws the eye, leaving the others as supporting cast. Now I think of that. I painted what I saw and forgot I could move things around if I wanted to.

Post Office Poppies

Oil on Canvas

6x6"

$75

     There was a riotous display of these Oriental poppies in the planter along the parking lot at my post office. I took lots of pictures, just random shots, not knowing if anything could come of it. There were hundreds of poppies, but I chose just these few petals to paint this time.