Gold Tipped Blue Iris by Nancy Medina
Gold Tipped Blue Iris is drying on the easel, a small study after an evening working on my 40 inch wide container garden commission. I've shared an image of the container garden in progress on my art blog, it's at that awkward stage - the adolescent phase of the painting, all elbows and knobby knees, before the final punches of color are placed to make the flowers stand out. You have to lay in a little dirt to make the flowers grow properly, and my version of dirt is often a thin wash of raw umber. Mother nature knew what she was doing when she created dirt. It's the perfect underpainting and backdrop for brilliant color. I tend to go a bit over the top with the color, but at least I'm having fun on this journey!
