Saturday, April 11, 2009

Happy Spring Religious Holidays!


"Holly's Irises"
5" x 18"

I have friends from many cultures, so this is my way of saying happy celebration of your particular day, whether it be Easter, Passover, Sinhala and Tamil, Spring Solstice, or other day special to you. I don't consider myself a flower artist, but every spring I can't resist painting from live flowers when the sun shines, the earth warms, and the air fills with the sweet perfumes of spring. Holly's Irises grow on my patio, a gift from my friend, Holly, at a very difficult time in my life when my husband, Gary, was dying from cancer. I had a newly poured concrete pad and bare dirt. First my friend, Pam, gave me some Primroses that I planted. Then Holly gave me bulbs that she had saved from her garden. These irises are from some famous old gardens in Willow Glen that no longer exist. The owners sold the property for homes and moved to the coast to grow more irises. These gifts were the beginnings of a very lovely oasis outside my dining room.

Creating this piece was pure fun. I washed in the colors and let them dry, then I used negative and positive layering. I had had a frame for a number years that is long and narrow and I had never quite figured out how I might use it -- a wide panoramic landscape, tall trees, flowers? As I decided to paint the irises, I realized they could be the perfect match. I will feature this piece at my Silicon Valley Open Studios (link to the right) on May 9 and 10.

Yesterday Bob and I were treated to wonderful spring vistas on country roads as we took our cycling academy class through Gilroy and Morgan Hill country areas. I especially love the yellow-orange California poppies mingled with purple flowers along the roads and hillsides. Friend Pat has promised to collect some seeds from her native poppies. Years ago her dad gathered some poppie seeds in the wild and planted them. When Pat moved to San Jose she planted some of the seeds from Dad's plants. So I will have beautiful poppies with a worthy historic geneology.

15 comments:

JSuar said...

I like how this one came out. The colors and shapes of the flowers look great.

Unknown said...

this is beautiful Mary! I love the unique canvas shape. Happy Easter to you too. Hugs.

Mary Paquet said...

John and Sheila, thanks for your encouraging comments. This is the first time I've done art in this long, narrow dimension, and I like the results.

FitFoodieMegha said...

This is beautiful as usual Mary! :) I like your work with narrow dimensions as well..:)
Megha
Art on Sketchbook

Mary Paquet said...

Megha, thanks for checking in. I just visited your photography site. You are multitalented!

simoart said...

Hi Mary
This is a beautiful flower paiting. I celebrate Easter.Keep up the good work.

Mary Paquet said...

Thanks for stopping by, Simoart. I enjoy checking in on your son's paintings.

theresamillerwatercolors said...

This is BEAUTIFUL, Mary! One of my favorites!

Mary Paquet said...

Theresa, thanks so much for the nice comment, especially when you are the master of florals done in watercolor. I just checked out your magnolias - lovely.

Sandy Maudlin said...

Hope the day is beautiful for the wedding....and hope you gave the newly weds one of your paintings. They are beautiful.

Mary Paquet said...

Sandy, thanks so much for the encouragement. I should think about a floral painting for the newlyweds. I did give them a painting of a young woman in Portugal, which they had admired for the past year, as a Christmas present.

We are so happy that Jamie is being blessed with perfect weather this weekend. High 70s to low 80s here and the venue is gorgeous -- looks out over the eastern mountains, which are still green. A premium, when we host 80 people for a brunch tomorrow, they can sit out in the nice weather and enjoy my beautiful irises depicted in this post - they are opening as I write.

Peggy Stermer-Cox said...

Hi Mary, Wonderful irises! I like the cool temperature; it supports the feeling of early spring.

I enjoy coming to your blog so much, I've added a link on my site to yours. Thanks!

Mary Paquet said...

Peggy, thanks so much for checking in and adding a link to my site.

pattrsnd said...

Very beautiful Mary! Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting!

David

Mary Paquet said...

David, I love your work. Thanks for your encouragement.