The Nature Inspired Entries of "Series: 2021"
The subject matter for this series has been quite varied. Here are the paintings of natural world that have found their way into creation this year.
Speedpainting videos on YouTube!
Amarylis: #4
Man O'War: #6
Summer Sunrise: #7
Nighttime: #9
Still Life: #11
Wildflower: #12
"Amaryllis" - #4 My mother and grandmother are both artists and I have paintings of flowers by both women. I thought it time for me to finally make something to join the collection. (See the inspiration below.)
"Man O'War" - #6 I seemed to be in a watery kind of mood. It's not often that I start with the background and not the subject! The man o'war jellyfish is unique in that it sails on top of the water, trailing long tentacles beneath.
"Summer Sunrise" - #7 I wanted to do something appropriate for the season, a season I admittedly do not have a great fondness for. Based on my own photos of the sunrise, one of which was taken during the wildfires of 2020 that surrounded Antelope Valley, CA. Finding the beauty regardless.
"Nighttime" - #9 Continuing on with finding subjects I having painted before made me decide to do a moonlit forest. I was inspired by a foggy night photograph. We look out into the forest from the point of view with an owl. It was interesting that I had to remind myself that could paint the trees more loosely and still have a good sense of reality.
"Still Life" - #11 Still lifes are another topic I don't paint, so why not try it? I had photographed this centerpiece on my dining room table one morning as the light streamed in. It made a great photo, but I like it even more as a painting!
"Wildflower" - #12 is the last painting of the year. This was from a photograph I took. I really loved the juxtaposition of the flower growing through the rusty chainlink fence; a vignette of urban nature. I tried doing many new things this year and learned a lot. Most importantly, I noticed how much I love to paint light and how I was able to utilize my photography to help my painting. I wonder what the new year will bring for me to paint?
Generations
Here are the paintings by my grandmother and mother that inspired Amaryllis.
My grandmother painted with watercolors,
my mother with acrylics
and I painted digitally in Photoshop.
Elemental Series (Feminine): Earth, Wind, Fire & Water
This series represents a more stylized approach to portraying the human form than the artist's usual realism.
Pixie - Earth
Sylph - Wind
Sprite - Fire
Naiad - Water
Elemental Series (Masculine):Earth, Wind, Fire & Water
After completing the first four of the Elemental Series, the artist was challenged to paint men as the subject matter. Normally drawn to the graceful female form, the artist indeed found it challenging to create archetypal masculine figures that represented strength, without resorting to negative stereotypes.
Greenman - Earth
Zephyr King- Air
Hephaestus - Fire
