Flowers in the studio

I have been painting flowers in the studio a lot recently, probably because it's the best thing after painting in plein air when the weather is a bit too cold or damp to venture outside. I tend to pick white flowers because they absorb and reflect so many colours, and I love trying to detect those subtle colour shifts.

I often only have a couple of hours at the time so it forces me to be quick, bold and spontaneous, which is actually what I always aim for. I think it's fair to say that since having children, specially after the second one, my style got more and more spontaneous and bolder, probably reflecting the limited time windows I get to paint. Any more children and surely my paintings would just be a single brushstroke! :-)

Here is below some white roses with the steps as many of you were kind enough to say you enjoyed looking at the progress pictures I've been sharing recently:

White roses  10"x10"  oil on board  SOLD

Detail

Detail

Steps of the progress of the painting:

Below is a painting of white asters I produced during a tutorial with two lovely ladies in my studio a few weeks ago.

White asters  10"x12"  oil on board
Available here

The set up in the studio (my painting on the right)

Detail

Detail

I've been painting ranunculus last week so I'll be posting those soon.
All my available work is on my website:
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I hope you all have a fantastic day!

A little taste of South Africa

On a wet rainy day like today, when I'm looking out for inspiration for something to paint in the studio, all I need to do is check out my sister's instagram account (@poesy_by_sophie) which is full of beautiful photographs taken during her trips and adventures in Africa. A few weeks ago I found a gorgeous picture taken at the Citrusdal farm in South Africa and couldn't resist trying to depict the patches of light with paint. Here is the result below:

A glass of wine in the shade - Waterfall Farm Citrusdal - South Africa  oil on board 10"x10"

Detail

Detail

I've included below a few steps for those who like to see my process:

The finished painting

I'm saving this painting for a group show that will happen later this year London and which might well be the most exciting event of the year! (well at least for me!). I'll do a post about it very soon but all I can say now is save the date 16-20 October 2018!

Feel free to browse my website for all my available paintings:

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I hope you have a wonderful week!

Pink peonies

I haven't painted flowers for many years but recently got the urge for it. I set up in my studio and painted the same peonies over three days to watch them get bigger and gradually more open. Or maybe I just like to get my money's worth! Either way, here is the result:

Day 1 - I set up the flowers in the day in the studio with a mix of natural and artificial light:

Pink peonies (1) - 10"x10" oil on board
Available for sale here

I set up a grey background as I thought it would go nicely with the pink of the flowers. This happened to be my husband's golf jumper which had the perfect grey I was looking for. He probably won't be super pleased to find out I used it in a studio full of paints... But maybe he won't read my blog? Let's see! 

In progress...

Towards the end

I think in this series of paintings, I enjoyed painting the vase as much as the flowers. The subtle reflections on the glass were so satisfactory to paint.

Detail of the finished painting

Day 2 - I painted in the studio with only natural light in a contre-jour effect:

Pink peonies (2) - 10"x10" oil on board
Available for sale here

I wanted to capture a bit of the garden in the background and light coming from behind the vase to make it lighter.

In progress...

In progress...

Detail of the finished painting

Day 3 - Set up in the studio in the evening with artificial light only, which explains the warmer feel about it:

Pink peonies (3) - 10"x10"  oil on board
Available for sale here

The set up. No golf jumper in sight this time. Didn't want to push my luck...

Detail

I really enjoyed painting these, and will do it again with an other bunch as soon as I get the chance. 

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A bit of summer in the studio

Here are an other two paintings done in the studio while the baby sleeps... If I'm looking for inspiration and need some good reference photographs, I know I'll always find something inspiring in my sister's Instagram account... She takes the most beautiful pictures of her life in South Africa with her family (have a look here if you're curious: www.instagram.com/sophiepirlot). She has three adorable daughters and they make the best models for those pictures. I found two photographs that were begging to be painted, and they brought a little taste of summer back in the studio.

The painting below is Aprilia walking on a sunny path:

Sunny Path  8"x8" oil on board

Detail

Detail

Here are the step by step pictures for those who like to know more about my technique. As you can see below I work directly from the computer because it is convenient but also because an RGB display screen is generally richer that any printed pictures...

Step 1: I picked a background colour that fits the subject (something warm in this case), then applied a grid like on the reference photograph, then did a basic drawing.

Step 2: Bock out the darkest green and some mid tones

Step 3: Some lighter tones in the greens and work on the path

Step 4: Painting the figure

Step 5: Adding all the highlights and refining some details

Step 6: Stop now! Don't spoilt it! :-)

This second painting depicts Colombine and Aprilia heading to the swimming pool:

The gate to the swimming pool  10"x10"  oil on board

Detail

Detail

Here is the step by step:

(Note: I'm missing the picture of the basic drawing on step1 because I had left my phone in the baby's room to play the white noise app to get him to sleep! :-))
In this case I used a vivid orange background to convey the feeling of heat across the whole painting.

Step 2: Bock out the darkest greens and some mid tones

Step 3: Work on the figures and the background 

Step 4: Adding some highlights

Step 5: Adding more contrast and defining the shapes of the trees and gates

Step 6: Adding the flowers and final details

These paintings are not for sale as I'm keeping them in the family, but I just wanted to mention I'm available for similar commissions if you have a good inspiring photograph waiting to be painted! All my available paintings are for sale on my website here.

Also, with Christmas approaching, let me remind you that my 2017 calendars (desk and wall formats) are available for sale on my website here, alongside other products such as postcards and giclée prints. Worldwide shipping available.