Iris

The last of our Iris finished blooming today.  We brought some of the rhizomes with us from Portland.  They stayed in a bag for the first year or two before planting them in our garden.  They are blooming here as well as they did in Portland, sometimes standing almost five feet tall.  I especially love the bearded iris as they continue to produce blooms for quite some time.  I painted this to help keep bring a little of summer into the coming seasons.

Last Iris of Summer

16"x20"  oil on canvas 

Addicted to painting

Hello my name is Sue and I'm an addict.  I'm addicted to painting.  It not only takes my daylight hours but I dream about it at night.  It's all I can do to not run into my studio when I awake in the middle of the night.

"Iris on Gold"

12"x16" oil on canvas

"Red Rocks"

12x16 oil on panel

Painting faces

I'm beginning to realize that I love painting faces whether it be people or flowers.  My first love in painting was flowers but I didn't want to be tied to flowers avoiding what I didn't feel comfortable painting.  So, I stopped painting flowers and began painting a variety of subjects until I felt comfortable with any subject matter.  It's all about painting shapes anyway.  It's all about painting values and shapes not objects and things.  It's also about trying to capture the emotion and feelings I get from those values and shapes.  That said, I'm feeling that old pull towards flowers probably evoked from being out in my garden which is filled with color, values and shapes.  Ah, I love summer, don't you.

"Iris Close Up"

8x10 oil