A Summer Change of Pace

'Summer Tapestry" 6x12 oil on panel

"Summer Flowers. Evening" 6x12 oil on panel

"Hydrangeas in the Afternoon" 6x12 oil on panel

      I have often said that it is unusual that I hardly ever paint gardens. It is unusual because I am a graduate of the Landscape Design Program at George Washington University in DC and ran my own design business for years.  I used to call it painting with plants.

      Lately I have been doing a lot of planting and beginning to redesign my garden which will become a larger undertaking in the upcoming year. Landscape design is a lot like painting in that I am thinking of composition, color and texture. In the summer months I have 6 huge planters on my deck and I mix perennials with annuals and herbs. They are my color laboratory.

     While sitting outdoors enjoying a comfortable evening a couple of weeks ago I felt compelled to set up my plein air easel and paint some of the flowers. The first two paintings are of the flowers in two of the planters on my deck. The third is a little study of the front garden and my enormous Annabelle Hydrangeas.
      Enjoy!