As I’m writing this, September is winding down and October is just around the corner. The leaves have turned orange and yellow for the most part, there’s a nip in the air every night and it’s getting darker and darker. Not to mention, there now seems to be a daily sprinkling of fresh snow on the mountains around us. Fall is here and winter is just around the corner.
From a painting perspective, it’s also the time when I start shifting from painting summer themes, such as flowers and summer scenes, to wintery landscapes and holiday themes. But, before we go in that direction, I’d like to take a moment and look back at the paintings from this summer. As it turns out, my last four paintings are all related to flowers in one way or another!
Let’s take a closer look!
Old Flower Truck
The Old Flower Truck painting is one of my favorite paintings this year. It features an old vintage farm truck that was used here locally many decades ago while the farming community was just getting established. It has since traded its duties from workhorse to sign post, where it now shows visitors the way to a local flower farm.
Although I love the flowers at this farm (they have the most beautiful dahlias), the truck at the entrance to the farm has always fascinated me. I love old machinery and vehicles and when I see something like this just sitting out there, I can’t help but wonder about its history, what it was used for, who drove it and so on. The more I saw it, the more I knew I wanted to paint it.
The most challenging part about this painting was by far the truck. Covered with rust and peeling paint, it taught me a few new things about how to paint different kinds of textures. In fact, that’s another reason I wanted to paint this truck: it presented a challenge for me to take on, to figure out how to paint realistic looking old truck, broken and rusty parts, faded and peeling paint and so on.
In the end, I’m quite pleased with the result. It turned out quite a bit better than I expected.
Himalayan Poppy
One neat aspect of Alaskan summers is that many type of flowers that may not be native to Alaska still flourish here, with the right care. The Himalayan Poppy is one of these flowers. Planted in the right conditions, its bright blue and paper-like petals adds a nice splash of color to any garden and complements the many other kinds of flowers that grow well up here.
This flower has been on my list to paint for a while. My wife snapped a beautiful photo of one of the blooms in our garden and it was immediately added to queue. Painting the Himalayan Poppy came with set of challenges of its own. The texture of the petals initially looked like they would be be challenging to reproduce, as well as the transition from the very deep, dark blues of the center to the lighter blues at the edge of the petals. In the end, it turned out rather well.
Dahlia Delight
The flower farm featured in the Old Flower Truck has, of course, more than just vintage machinery. It’s known for its flowers and dahlia flowers in particular. About a year ago we had an opportunity to walk around the flowers for a little bit and we ended up with a bunch of flowery photos. The reference photo for this particular painting was from that visit.
What’s striking about this particular bloom is the mix of colors. There are bright pinks, deep reds as well as almost a golden yellow. In a way, the mix of these three colors, and the yellow streaks throughout the petals, remind me a of a fire, or embers from a fire. It’s fascinating to look at but also delightful and comforting at the same time. It really is a beautiful flower! Expect more dahlia paintings in the future! Now you also know what you can expect if you yourself visit that farm during the flower season.
Sunflower Blooms
One of my very first gouache floral paintings was that of a sunflower. With this painting, I’m returning to sunflowers a second time, but from a little different perspective. While the first sunflower was a full size flower, these are (I believe) dwarf sunflowers, just grown from a pot on our back deck. What makes them so special to me is that several blooms fit within a small space, creating a compact but very colorful visual presentation.. They’re a very vibrant yellow and have a very dark red center, providing a beautiful splash of color wherever they’re placed.
Although they bloom during the latter part of the summer and I was planning on this to be my last summer painting, it also turned into my first fall painting.
Wrapping Up
As you can see, the latter part of the summer ended up being dedicated to beautiful flowers. Although the season of flowers here in Alaska is pretty much over at this point, you can bring some of these delightful flowers into your home for a splash of summer year round, or share them with others, through the originals, prints, greeting cards as well as postcards (soon) available right here, in my website shop.
Also look for a flower greeting card bundle in the future, based on not just these but also some of the flower paintings from last summer.
