I have decided to blog a little something every time I add a painting and maybe even go back and write the back stories on my paintings. I hope to give a little insight as to why and what I am painting and hopefully someone will be interested in my journey.

I have a fairly large file of flower painting reference photos on my computer.The  photos are of  any and every flower I come across and also I will go on photography daytrips at Butchart Gardens. When I am preparing to start a new painting, I will spend a fair amount of time going through my photos trying to decide what to paint.I print off some of them on 8x10 photo paper and lay out the days candadates and toss around the posabilities of what the would look like painted .I consider if I should change the composition or if I am satisfied with it the way it is. Then the photos that I have printed and decide not to use in this session, go into a binder.The funny thing is it seems to be a "the grass is always greener" thing because I will still end up going through the whole process the next time I need a reference photo.

On this particular day I had printed a photo of some tulips.I have many times admired this photo and many times passed it by but this time this photo spoke to me like it was the right time for me to tackle this one. 

I had taken the photo a couple of years ago at a farm where my daughter was living. The farm is mostly untammed gardens and the tulips,daffadils and poppies just spring up everywhere..its beautiful. I wish I could have such a garden but I tend to be a bit of a garden tamer and would have troubles just letting the grass grow up between the tulips.I have painted several paintings from this beautiful resorce but unfortunatley the people that live there now are also garden tamers.

This particular grouping of tulips were up against a wall of a shed and the bright sunlight caused the photo to have such bright contrast that the  background appeared almost black ,which makes the brightness of the highlights really radiate the warmth and the impresion of a bright sunny day.