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| Irises in the Afternoon Copyright 2016 Hirschten Oil on Canvas 11" x 14" Original painting available on Etsy |
"Then we had the irises,
rising beautiful and cool
on their tall stalks,
like blown glass,
like pastel water momentarily
frozen in a splash,
light blue,
light mauve,
and the darker ones,
velvet
and purple,
black cat's ears in the sun,
indigo shadow,
and the
bleeding hearts,
so female in shape it was a surprise they'd not long
since been rooted out.
There is something subversive about this garden
of Serena's, a sense of buried things bursting upwards, wordlessly, into
the light, as if to point, to say:
Whatever is silenced will clamor to
be heard, though silently.”
-Margaret Atwood,
The Handmaid's Tale
I created this painting en plein air in my garden one sunny afternoon....
First I set up my easel with my circular rainbow of colors.
Next I mapped out the forms using the burnt sienna and ultramarine blue.
The darkest shapes are in.
Now the fun start with mixing the vibrant colors in the shadow side of the objects.
And last but not least I added the bright sections that are highlighted by the sun.
I get asked so often by students how to break down paintings into steps that I created this free mini-course. You are welcome to this detailed step-by-step guide for free...
