Every summer, I just want to be outdoors. All of the time.
This summer was no exception. It was relentlessly hot, the hottest summer I can remember, in fact. But I still wanted to be outside for as long as possible because our winters are long, and always lurking around the corner. Long months of hibernation indoors also stretch on forever.
In early summer, I keep busy by planting and tending to my container gardens. However, as July stretches on, I have less and less work to do outside (and less motivation to get any work done, as the heat usually gets the best of me). But there is one pastime that artists have long done in the summer: and that is, paint outside, or en plein air. There’s nothing more romantic sounding that taking a small paint palette and sitting outdoors, painting the afternoon away.
And so, on a hot, sunny Saturday, I decided to shelter on my shady back balcony, and I picked out a project to keep me occupied: a small painting of a brilliant vase of flowers.
The painting was based on a flamboyant bouquet of mid to late-summer, locally-grown blooms purchased from a local florist (florist seems like too simple of a word for her… she’s truly an artist). Among the many flowers in the bouquet were snapdragons, cockscomb, flowering basil, cosmos, and a pretty pink rose. It made for a spectacular, jewel-toned bouquet that I had so much fun immortalizing in my acrylic paints.
I wish I had done this piece a little larger. When I finished, it was a small 8 inches by 8 inches. But I really do love the piece, and despite its small size, it is beautiful and truly brightens even the tiniest of spaces.
I documented the process of creating the painting in a video I posted to my YouTube channel; take a look here. I also have prints for sale in my Etsy shop.
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