finishing, starting, sensing, strawberries

I'm posting a few of the pieces I've been "finishing."

The first, of nasturtiums in the garden, was "finished in 2007, but I've finished it at least twice since then. This time it's really finished. Unless I go back into it again.

It's an oil on canvas, 30" x 40" - there's a slightly earlier version of it in the first post on the blog,  shown with other paintings in progress. (See "older posts")

Here it is set in the dead leaves of our front yard. Hopefully it's a portent of coming colors of spring and summer. The winter colors of the world seem to intensify the spring/summer colors of the painting. Maybe an idea for a frame, if I can manage it without kitschiness.

Indoor photo of the painting of nasturtiums, almost full frame:

Detail of above painting. For saturated color, energy of growth, variety of leaf colors, and last, but not least, flavor, nasturtiums are essentials in my (gardening, painting and culinary) book.

Then, there is the more organized, evidence of the hands-of-man garden I started last spring, that should be completed this spring. I'm finding that I sometimes apply the paint (or whatever material I'm using) according to what I'm seeing. In this case, it is like sowing seeds in neat, orderly rows, unlike the wild abandon of the above. I often get caught up in sensual experience, whether visual, aural, tactile, oral, or smell, or any of those combined (for instance, the taste, smell and colors of sweet fresh strawberries.) Just thinking about that took me away from my post. 

Here's the more organized garden, a painting still in progress (16" x 20" oil on canvas):

I felt the manicured and tidy, enclosed garden contrasted with the the natural, uncontained growth of the trees beyond the wall. Not too obvious, but it creates a tension.

Now to a completely new direction for today. Saturday I had a visit with a dear friend and her beautiful baby boy. I took many photos, but didn't have time to sketch. I'm going to try to do a painting of one or both of them just from the photos and memory. Also trying to finish up the portraits I have going already.

Please come back to check in, and feel free to leave comments, if you wish.