Dogwood Blooming

This rather dramatic painting is a departure from my recent soft watercolors. I am portraying the stubborn insistence of plants to keep to their blooming schedule despite wind and rain. I don't have the words to express this amazing annual miracle, here it is in paint.
28" x 22"

Budding

The blossoms of a young Magnolia tree  in my yard are slowly opening. The weather has been very unsettled, hardly springlike yet.  I tried to capture this lovely event .

Camellia Branch

So what is a painter to do in wintry weather?  Paint camellias of course !

And I continued work on my earlier camellia painting, developing and strengthening the leaves
blossoms and background - this is the revised version.

Pink Camellias

 The temperature outside is still chilly, and the sun only peeks out occasionally, but spring is on the way,
 and my neighbors camellias are proof of this.
This was painted in one long session, (the term is alla prima,)  it's like holding your breath for a long underwater lap in the pool, and I'm breathless!
I will probably continue to fuss with it - but I feel pretty happy just now.
22" x 30"

About Memory

At times it's difficult to put into words the reasons for choosing to paint particular subject matter. In this case it is a memory of my mother, and a painting of a pot of primroses I gave her a long time ago. Primroses are a reminder of those feelings.

Valentine Chocolates

Yum!   This one is just for fun - Happy Valentine's Day you all!

Pineapple II

To continue the fascinating subject of painting the pineapple..... this one is twice the size of the earlier version I posted,  and is now perfectly ripe and will be eaten this evening.... again, my inspiration derives from marble bas-relief sculpture , with the pineapple being a convenient stand in for the usual mythological god or goddess, who are currently unavailable, alas.
30" x 22"