“Celebration” 48″ x 48″ diptych – oil and metal leaf on canvas – $6,000
“Sun Ripened” 36″ x 48″ – oil and metal leaf on canvas – $4,300
This is my favorite time of the year when trees and flowers are blossoming and the weather is mild. It is also time for new art work to be seen at the Portland Art Museum’s Rental/Sales Gallery, always a happy event. Both of these paintings were selected by the jury to be included in the spring show.
Creating spring paintings during winter months and fall paintings during summer seems to have become my own tradition and I need to have a lot of reference photos on hand for off season inspiration. This means several photographic trips at peak blossoming times, so life is very busy at the moment.
I have painted several lily paintings over the years, some in watercolor and more recently, in my oil and metal technique. I love their shapes, their curling petals and leaves. “Celebration” is a combination of lilies from two different gardens created in a diptych to emphasize these qualities.
Diptychs are always an interesting challenge because the composition must work in each canvas and also as a third composition of both. They also give more flexibility in displaying them as a unit, spaced out or hung in a corner. “Sun Ripened” was created for an earlier May Wine Month show at the Lawrence Gallery and also was part of my winery show last fall at Cathedral Ridge Winery in Hood River.
The Rental/Sales opening is April 26, 5-8 p.m. at the gallery, located at 1237 SW 10th Ave., Portland, OR.
