Potted Pansies

Diane Mannion, Potted Pansies, 8x10" oil

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      Potted plants in moldy pots have always been a favorite subject of mine.  I hang around garden centers squinting at roses, staring at petunias, and lusting after hibiscus trees.  Shopkeepers always rush to help.  "Just looking," I say, waving them off.  Lately, I've been snapping photos when the sun strikes a flower just right... hooray for cellphone cameras!  I prefer painting from life, but nothing captures back-lit petals like a snapshot.  

     Potted Pansies was painted as an exercise from a digital photo.  The pansies are long gone but I think a few of the begonias are still alive somewhere in the garden.  Flowers might seem a simple subject but when the paint piles up it's not that easy.  The flowers above that I painted the fastest without overworking, I like the most.  My favorite is the white and purple pansy on the upper right. 

      I've been studying other artists who've tackled florals.  Michael Klein is a current obsession, purchased his videos and book, FLOWER PAINTING.

      This morning I came home with some new garden center subjects (victims?).  Want to grab my brushes and start... but first, it's Abolish-Studio-Clutter-Day!