I painted this Magnolia based on a photo I took in Seattle. The blossom is just a little past perfection which makes it vulnerable and real. The butterfly in flight comes from a photograph I took at the Magic Wings, a butterfly conservatory in Massachusetts. The wooden plaque is 8 1/2″ X 6 3/4″ and is for sale at $80 including shipping .
This vintage all wood bench is painted with a view of a Water Lily pond with unusual red, pink and yellow pads. A large fuchsia flower jumps off the surface with intense realism. I love the way the light hits the water at the top of the scene and how you can look into the murkiness of foliage below the water. Of course there is a frog!! I captured these botanical beauties at the Minneapolis Zoo a few years ago. I painted the graceful legs of the bench in four shades of green that darken as they descend, with gold and copper colored highlights. It is currently available for sale at $425 plus shipping and handling. The seat is 20 1/2″ X 14″ and is 16″ off the floor. The handles add an additional 3″. Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this table.
All this china is painted on the front of a simple jelly cabinet. There are teacups, teapots and lace doilies. The door has two panels each of which I divided into two faux shelves. I created some of the china patterns while other designs are from taken from well known patterns such as the teapot with the Cherub. Searching out china patterns was such fun! The Chinese spoons are part of my personal collection. The green and pink spoon is very old and I tried to preserve that when I painted it. I added a ‘real’ Hydrangea blossom for a change of texture. The jelly cabinet was originally found at a yard sale and likely started out life as unpainted furniture. It came to me in pieces, painted half brown and half red. Now its blue with gold edging and is “filled” with faux china! Open the door to find a surprise butterfly painted inside. This piece is currently a focal point in my own living room.
This was one of the most challenging subjects requested of me by a client. Scallop sea shells! I had no idea before doing research for this piece how varied Scallop shells were. A Special thank you to my seashell and starfish collecting friends for loaning me so many specimens as models! I especially enjoyed painting the insides of the shells. Particularly difficult were the grey toned shells from Cape Cod because the tops were dark while the deeper grooves were light colored. This made creating depth a real challenge. I am so pleased with the way the star fish came out, as well as some of the other kinds of sea shells! And the barnacles! They were great little details to paint. Since the underside of the lazy Susan (supplied by the client) was as finely finished as the top, it is just as easy to use upside down, therefore I painted it a faux pink marble as an alternative.
