Blog

Westerland Rose and Purple Penstemons 20"x24" Oil

There are many beautiful paintings done in muted colors. In these the artists base their artwork on tone rather than color. No doubt if the values in a painting are correct one can use any color, even the most drab combination, and the painting will look great.

But, what has kept my passion for painting at high pitch  over the years is color. For me color is the spice of life. Lush colorful flowers in our garden give me life. When almost all plants in late winter are dormant, the violas appear to be at their best showing off their delicate leaves and purple or yellow blossoms. They are unaffected by frost or even snow and so is the crocus. When I discover these delicate flowers in late winter in our garden I know spring is around the corner. 

In our garden the scenery changes day by day. Almost daily I find, in our wildflower small plots, yellow, pink or purple blossoms that I may have missed the day before. At this time roses such as the Westerland shown in this painting are also at their best. The Westerland is an English climber rose, I prune it in February to keep it as a bush not having to deal with erecting a stout trellis for such a vigorous rose, and it needs to be kept pruned throughout the growing season. It does very well for us and is immune to all diseases. The purple or lavender flowers in the painting are Penstemons. They are some of my favorite flowers and I have them in purple and pink. They also brighten my day.

Simplification in painting is important as a general rule but especially in harmonizing a painting that has many colors. Clashing complementary hues in a painting if they are brought too much to attention through unnecessary details or pronounced intensity may derail the harmony in a painting that relies mainly on color harmony, such as the painting shown here.