First flowers

It isn't quite spring yet, but the first flowers have bloomed on the picture frame I'm painting. Soon there will be others.  Watch my garden grow.

 

White, not black

I'm painting a picture frame for Abbey and I planned to use a black background.  My "black" is actually green-black because it's not as harsh and flat as black black.

However, I haven't been able to find green-black, so I'll use a white background.  Not actually white, but a very, very pale green-white.  Again, it's not as harsh and flat as white white.  Now I have to try out a new varnish that's not too shiny to coat the background before I begin painting the flowers.

A gift for Pete

Pete wanted me to paint something for him that he could use, not just set on a shelf, so I made him this cutting board.  He knows the rules: only use the unpainted side, place a towel under the board so you don't scratch the paint, and don't use it for fish or meat.  The last rule shouldn't be too hard for vegetarian Pete.

A finished plate

Here is my finished plate.  I think the bright flowers look quite dramatic on the black background.

Class project

This is the plate I worked on during my recent four-day class.  I will be painting a few more small flowers nearer the rim of the plate and then doing something decorative on the rim.  The red rose, the orange eight-petal flower and the leaves were all new to me.  The class was very energizing.

Learning from the master

I just finished a wonderful four-day class with a master rosemaler.  What a pleasure!  There were twelve of us in the class and you can see how intent we are to learn from this talented teacher.  As I work on things I've learned from her, I will will show them on future posts.

Eleven little birds

I finished painting eleven bird Christmas ornaments--one for me and ten for my rosemaling club.  I think they're sweet.