Tag: lily of the valley

Memories of Spring, Thoughts of Summer

For me, lilies of the valley are spring flowers – late spring, for sure, but spring nonetheless. They are not native to California and certainly cannot survive the heat we get, but you can grow them in cool areas. Short-lived, they add a bit of beauty and mark the transition into summer.

Today is cool and grey – May Grey for California! – but it will warm up later on. The sun will come out inland – we live one valley in from the Pacific – but may not show itself along the coastline. Our spring has been wet and gloomy with bits of sunshine in between, but as we move toward summer, heat and watermelon and cold drinks come to mind. (Meanwhile, I am enjoying my hot morning coffee!)

Seasonal transitions – things to say goodbye to, things to welcome. I myself have been in a phase of transition, too. I am learning to play the ukulele, working on oil painting sewing, gardening. All of these take time away from blogging, which is rather nice, really. Still, the fact is that ink and watercolor, individually or together, always beckon, so before I even started the day, my sketchbook came out, colors and ink. It all makes for a good way to start the day, beating dishes and laundry and other housework by a good ten miles!

Lilies of the Valley

With the plumbers here tearing out the wall in the studio, I took off for a bit of the morning to do some shopping for gym shoes and clothes, pick up an item I ordered awhile ago, and visit a local quilting store.  On the way home I picked up some groceries.  Usually I like to spend the morning painting, but this afternoon I decided to do some as the plumbers were gone.

Again, I am working with gouache, and finding now that I have a basic understanding of it, I want to use it more and more.  What I like about gouache is the fact I can build up layers, and this gives me a lot more control than watercolor – over which you have NO control (you just think you do!).  Both are beautiful in their control and lack of control.

Gouache lends itself to a more impressionistic approach to color usage and painting style.  That is what I find myself especially drawn to at the present.  Precise, accurate paintings, or ones which have a very graphic nature to them, while attractive, just don’t fit into my personality.  Here is where being messy is okay!  Even better when you can cover up your mess.  I like the spontaneity of watercolor and its unpredictable qualities, and I like the painterly quality of gouache.

Today the idea was to just paint.  No theme, just play.  As I enjoy flowers, I picked a photo from Pixabay of Lilies of the Valley.  Color scheme was simple – the usual white and some black or dark blue, but essentially blue, green, yellow, and white, along with complementaries to make greys.  I had a lot of fun, and while I can see areas for improvement, there really is no need to as it is practice.  And practice is fun if you let it be – so, I am letting it be and enjoying the result.

This was painted using Holbein Artists Gouache (watersoluble, non-acrylic) on Fabriano Hot Press 25% cotton paper.

I even signed it with my real “painters” signature!