AZALEAS 2 – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

I have had a few distractions of late and dont have much to show except a reworking of some azaleas I posted a week or so ago. In this rework I made the flowerheads larger so that they occupied more of the painting surface – after all they are the subject of the painting. I also modified my colour palette to echo the yellow/orange of the flowerheads in the foliage area and pushed the purples and blues in this same area to complement the yellow/orange of the flowers. You can only hope it that it makes a difference.

My original version is below.

Floral paintings are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

AZALEAS IN YELLOW – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

Following the last post with my yellow roses, I decided to keep the floral theme going. Besides, I had the yellow paint out, and so I thought that I would have a go at painting the flowers from one of my azalea bushes. In the right light they have an orange tinge and I thought I’d push that in the painting. I used a bit of masking fluid for the stamens, but that was all the masking I did. I was also concerned about all the foliage and decided to do a very loose, almost abstract, background to represent the leaves. So here is the result. Upon reflection I could have got the flowers a shade bigger and perhaps echoed the floral shades in the background with a few loose hints of orange yellow. Though I do like the way the flowers stand out – probably because of the hard edges of the flowers against the soft edges of the greenery.

I also had time to paint a version of the yellow roses for the website. As there was no time constraints I added an extra flower head and below is the result.

So if you need a floral painting or two shoot over to my website and bag yourself some bargains: grahammcquadefinert.com

SUNSHINE AND ROSES – WATERCOLOUR SKETCH

I recently had some requests to do painting demonstrations in the coming months; two of them were for watercolour and one wanted a floral painting in watercolour. I was pondering on what to do when I recalled a painting of the yellow roses that grow in my garden which I did in 2019 and posted on this blog. I was pleased with it at the time, but it has hung around unsold and I thought that it might be a good opportunity to revitalise it and also have it as a subject ready for a couple of demos.

The original one, which I have put below, had quite a lot of hard edges and was perhaps a bit stolid, so I thought that I would incorporate more soft edges and mix those edges up a bit, as well as emphasising the light source to give the image more oomph. Also, in the first one I played around with purples and blues in the foliage to complement the yellows and I thought I could increase this contrast. So here is the result.

I will do another one, with an extra rose – more like the one below – to put up for sale. The one above is just a pilot for the demos. The more complicated you get the painting, the longer it takes to do and there is a chance you’ll not finish it on the night. In any case, I think there is enough in this one to provide a good example of my working practice. For a piece for sale I think the extra rose will give it a better balance.

Other floral paintings – and the one above – are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

SUNSHINE IN A BLUE VASE – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

In my last blog I was bemoaning the difficulty I had with a painting. Well here is that beast, the one I almost tamed – perhaps we’ll call it a draw.

My wife had arranged some sunflowers in our big glass vase and I walked into the room as the sun was streaming in via a side window – so I had to at least give it a go.

The shadows intrigued me almost as much as the light flecked flowers, so my initial response was to do the painting in landscape format.

This version isnt complete, but shows my initial thoughts on the subject, along with the need to compress the vase for this format. As I painted this I started to think that perhaps I should just focus on the light on the flowers, so I started to paint a new version in portrait format, but threequarters of the way through the painting I realised that I had missed out one of the flowers.

So you brush yourself off, calm yourself down and start again and the result’s at the top.

Well, I’m not doing it again. Well, not for now… Though I have already corrected the out-of-kilter rim you see on top of the vase. The top and the bottom now belong to the same vessel.

Other floral paintings are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

A GARDEN IN LUNT – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

With house guests and other problems I havent much to show, so here is a painting I sold in 2006. I recall spotting this scene over a wall as I was out painting. I couldnt find anywhere to perch as there was a ditch in the way, so a few photos had to suffice and I completed it back home.

The old garden lit by the low sun and the view across the field of barley. It is a simple scene done simply, perhaps something I dont do these days. We were discussing it the other day, as we packed up one of our exhibitions. We didnt sell much, but some of the few that sold were simple landscapes – many of them anonymous. Certainly food for thought in the coming months, when hopefully I will be out on my bike painting our local countryside.

Other landscapes and floral paintings are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

ROSEBAY WILLOWHERB IN AUGUST – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

Walking through a clearing in my local woods last August I spotted the downy seed heads of the rosebay willowherb about to shed their harvest into the wind. It seemed a good subject with the remaining magenta flowers and reddish stalks set against the blue greens of the pinewoods and the yellower greens of the open scrubland. Here is the result.

You know, when midway through a painting, progress starts to slow and the enthusiasm edges towards the door, that perhaps it wasnt such a good idea, or a different approach might be advised. Actually, the reduced resolution of this photo has softened its pedantic plod and made it a bit less jarring to my eyes.

But then, I know the truth – it’s in front of me. We move on…

Other floral painting is available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

YELLOW ROSE – ACRYLIC PAINTING

For my final offering of 2021, here is a portrait of one of my yellow roses which grows close to where we sit on our garden deck. It flowers in profusion in June. Perhaps a little dark in the petal folds and that bud could just extend a little further upwards.

I painted it to complete a small set of flower studies in acrylic. I have stopped painting watercolour flowers as they seem less popular – certainly mine do – and I thought some big, bold flowers in acrylic might prove more popular.

Here are the other two, which if you are a regular reader, you will probably recognise.

So, all that’s left to do is wish to you all a happy New Year.

Original floral paintings are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

MORNING POPPIES – ACRYLIC PAINTING

A merry Christmas to all.

I was in the pop up gallery yesterday, manning our final day. It was a bit busier than my previous stints, but I managed to paint this between selling and wrapping up paintings.

When we got an unexpected extra month for our exhibition in the shop, I was very enthusiastic, but my sales seem to have dropped off a cliff edge in the run up to Christmas. Up until November they had been trickling out quite well and I thought the final month, with three exhibitions, might even yield an increase in sales; how wrong I was.

So the year ends on a low. Still, I love the act of painting and without having the above painting to occupy my time yesterday, standing alone in the gallery would have been a real chore. Even though I didnt sell any of my paintings, I did sell some paintings of others and the fact that I came home with this, made the day worthwhile.

So if you fancy a painting, try my website. There are plenty still available: grahammcquadefineart.com

RHODODENDRON – ACRYLIC PAINTING

In the past I have sold many floral paintings in watercolour, but of late they haven’t been as popular. Despite being pleased with the ones I recently exhibited, they followed me home. So when I saw some floral paintings in acrylic, presented as single flowers I wondered whether I should follow this approach.

Here’s the first one – a single flowerhead, without my usual adornment of foliage. I have painted flowers in acrylic before, but more in the style of my watercolours and wasn’t taken with the result, despite the fact that acrylics can give much more saturated colour, in keeping with the flowers themselves.

In this painting the flower is big and brassy and demands attention without distraction. I mixed a greeny/black background to work against the pinks and reds of the flower and push the luminosity further.

We’ll see how it goes, you can but try.

Other floral paintings are available on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

SPRING RISING – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

As a corollary to the previous post on autumn, here’s one of spring with its clamouring surge. It started in some watercolour doodlings I posted a week ago and I liked the pose of the lower daffodil so thought I would do a quarter imperial painting and see how it came out – though I prefer my first version of the bottom daffodil – always a peril when repainting a subject. I have tackled this approach a long time ago, though it didn’t turn out as punchy as this one.

Looking at it as I write, the mass of blooms at the top remind me of a flock of hungry seagulls scrapping over scattered bread. OK, in my world seagulls can come in yellow.

Other floral paintings are available for sale ready for Christmas on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com