Library Flowers

Thanks to my friend Jessie, the library on campus was hosting a stress break/painting break for faculty, staff and students today.  He organized a get together in the center of the library atrium and provided live plants, reference books, watercolors, paper and brushes for anyone who wanted to take a break from their normal day.

I used my own materials,  and had a great time forgetting for an hour that I was supposed to be at work.  What I give you is a small representation of the flowers that were in front of me.  I've no idea what kind of flowers they are.

I didn't draw the flowers or the vase before I jumped in and started painting.  With simple things like this, where I don't have to be exact to paint a flower, I like to do it all freehand.  I't not like painting a building or a boat or something where if I get an edge crooked, the whole painting looks off.  I guess I cold have screwed up the vase, but seem to have done ok with that.    Looking at it now, I wish i had given a little more time to defining the leaves, especially where they all come together, but all in all, not too bad.

Jessie is hosting another get together next Wednesday, so, barring any tragic events, I'm gonna be back there next week.  In fact with spring and summer just around the corner, I'm gonna be able to get out and paint more and more.  Hopefully, I'll keep with it and have plenty of paintings to post.  Thanks for the views.  Hope you enjoyed it.

More Sketching from the Hotel

This watercolor painting for sale.  5 1/2 x 8 1/2.  $7

 These are two pictures I did of centerpieces at the hotel last week.  Once again, I started to draw these, and then quickly decided that given my drawing skills it would be much easier to just paint them.  The flowers were in nice glass jars, and were mostly either green, or orange flowers.  There were the occasional calla lilly, but even those were pretty green.

Ok, ok, ok, I know they aren't the most technically perfect paintings in the world.  I didn't really try to paint a technically perfect painting.  I don't know that that is something I will ever do, but what I did was give a fair and accurate representation of the bouquets.

While I was painting the top one, I had several members of the convention I was working stop to talk to me about painting and watercolors and what not.  It was really nice to be able to chat about it.  

This watercolor painting for sale.  5 1/2 x 8 1/2.  $7

While painting this one, which is, again  just a simple painting of some flowers in a jar (errr, well the centerpieces on the tables),  I got the chance to talk to a couple of students that I might never had had the chance to spend much time with otherwise.  It was really nice to know we have such nice students at good ole Cal Poly.

I have to say that the paintings might not be the greatest, but the time to talk and share with those around me while I was painting more than makes up for and deficiency in the paintings.

Hope you all enjoy these a much as I enjoyed painting them.