A New Leaf

"Acuba and Mums"
12 x 9, oil on linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2015

I have not painted flowers since my very first oil painting exercise "back in the day", when the subject assigned to all of us beginners was a pink rose. Though I love flowers, I have not felt drawn to paint them. Perhaps my hesitation has something to do with the fear that I could never make a painting of a flower that was quite as beautiful as the flower itself. Whatever the reason, I have painted many, many still lifes--featuring fruit, vegetables, garden tools, even food!--but not flowers. 

"Sweet Magnolia"
12 x 12, oil on linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2015

Well, I recently turned over a new leaf, and found the courage to take on a few paintings  depicting flowers. Part of what sparked my interest in this challenge was

the prospect of painting so many different whites. I chose a gardenia and a magnolia (both from my own yard) for two of the paintings--all white! Now that's a way to make it interesting and challenging.

"Mums on Blue"
12 x 9, oil on linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2015

Perhaps I was motivated by my visit to the recent exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. So many fantastic paintings, showing how artists through the ages have taken different approaches to painting flowers. From botanical precision to complete abstraction--the field is wide open. I'm sharing a few images of my work here--enjoy! You can learn more about them here.

"First Gardenia"
8 x 8, oil on canvas
(c) Lesley Powell 2015