The Mystery on the Easel 2:7

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2:1Easel 1 June

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As I’d arrived at form so abruptly – and quite unexpectedly –  it was time to bring some life to the daisies.

I should say a little something about daisies.

They are arguably my favourite flower.  I love all manner of daisies from the minute daisy that intrudes itself into immaculate lawns, to the slightly bigger erigeron that spreads wantonly given half a chance, through wonderful marguerites to the fabulous shasta.  I love their bright cheerfulness, they have no pretensions, no super breeding – they are just plain old daisies, the flowers of the fields.  They always make me happy.  They keep on flowering, they keep coming back they keep waving their sun-filled centres about in garden or meadow or by roadside and they remind me that just being who you are is enough.

My friend Bekki, who appears in the comments here as a little knitted woolly lamb published a lovely photo on her blog a week or two ago of a field of ox-eye daisies and that picture has stayed with me through our dim, cold mid-wintery days.  I had also painted a daisy picture in my art journal recently and I wanted to do something more with that idea – with hindsight, I see it has influenced steps on this painting prior to the appearance of the flowers hdr

So, it was time to set to work.

Spotify randomly delivered me Diana Krall and Norah Jones today – separately and at their best, thereby proving to me that inanimate objects can know exactly what is required to get the job done!

 

They were followed by one of my favourite Van Morrison tracks

With small dabs of yellow, green and orange on the palette I lightly played about with beginnings and endings, light and shade to bring more shape and form into the  daisies.

I used my trusty charcoal stick, sketching lightly where stems and leaves and buds might go……….

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And put down the first layer of colours, alternating between leaf, stem and flower

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And, feeling pretty happy with progress, that was that for the day – we had other things to do.

Loving your thoughts my friends, thank you for your support and inspiration!

The final outcome shall be posted tomorrow 🙂

 

47 thoughts on “The Mystery on the Easel 2:7”

  1. I forgot to say, I loved “Into the Mystic” with Van Morrison. I enjoyed Diana Krall and Norah Jones, too. It is always nice to have songs I haven’t heard in awhile but enjoy. 🎶🎵

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  5. I love how each step of your process is revealed. You are a bold and brave artist. I love the painting. Daisies are such happy flowers.

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  6. How could I have missed this one with Norah Jones and Van Morrison. Fabulous accompaniments to your visuals. Delightful.

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  7. So beautiful, like they just burst into bloom in front of a lovely metallic window (or trellis?) Now you can have summer year round, and I think that is just about perfect. Wonderful music, I have not seen that Diane Lane movie, very spicy, no doubt. I don’t even have the words to tell you how much I love Van Morrison! I enjoyed the glimpse into your creative processes, Pauline 😀

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    • Ooops! Do you know I didn’t check the video content for that Diana Krall song – I don’t know what the movie is either 🙂 See, this is what happens when you do things at the last minute!! I’ll take it down, thanks for making me aware of that 🙂 Van sure can write a good song lyric! 🙂

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  8. Pauline, I feel like I have been allowed to sit in your studio this past week and have gotten to know you personally through your painting process. Is that presumptuous that I would feel this way? Your personality comes through the canvas–I think it may be the daisies:) I’ve enjoyed this and look forward to viewing the final outcome. 🙂

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  9. I read this last night and came back today to look again. They feel like more than just daisies to me. Daisies are my daughters favorite flower as well. Not sure if I have a favorite. These feel like star bursts almost. An explosion of light. Like something good is going to happen.

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    • I think you are right about that Marlene – for me they are starbursts and they represent that something good has happened. The are the flowers that rise out of the seeds of chaos. It’s been a really special process for me and I am so happy that you can see it too xoxo

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  10. Your creative process reminds me of the writing process, Pauline. You start out with a basic idea and throw down some words and then shift and shape and add colour and form as you edit and layer. And of course, it is fascinating how the finished product frequently bears no resemblance at all to the initial impulse and draft. I am in love with the idea that under your beautiful images there are some solid words that form a subtle backdrop.

    Spotify gave you more CanCon (Canadian lingo for Canadian content) on the eve of our 150th birthday! Diana Krall is a Canuck from my ol’ stompin’ grounds on Vancouver Island.

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    • I tend to have a number of Canadians/Canucks on my playlist Susanne – Rufus Wainwright and Martha too – Leonard of course, Michael Buble, Joanie Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot …….. and lets not forget k.d. the music world is full of gorgeous Canadian voices!! Happy Canada Day – it’s the 1st here already. Siddy shall wear his red bandanna with the maple leaf on today after he’s had his bath. Yes to all you said about the similarities – it’s a fascinating process!

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    • Thank you – it’s such a great thing to record each step – one of the blessings of blogging, otherwise I wouldn’t do it I’m sure. The recording of this process has been wonderful for me to become aware of and I’m really happy to have you along on the journey too 🙂

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  12. It’s really interesting to hear about all the various influences on this work, as it evolves. I like daisies, too–as you say, they just *are*–they don’t aspire to greatness, they don’t look to be pampered or adored. They’re simple and happy and strong and straightforward. We can learn a lot from daisies!

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    • I am fascinated by this record of how each step influences and feeds the next, even though there may be no visible trace in the end. Sort of like life really and how we all interact, influence and support each other …… I agree, daisies are not to be underestimated! 🙂

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    • I’m just glad, as Kerry mentioned yesterday, that I persisted and rescued it 🙂 It’s been a great process, though it might be some time before I dare try it again 🙂

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  16. Gorgeous…I too love daisies. My mother is called Margarita after the daisies which were blooming in her garden when my grandmother was heavily pregnant (my gran simplified the spelling because she was worried a child might not be able to cope with all that ‘uer’ business in the middle). So your picture makes me think of my mum – lovely.

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  18. I liked learning about your love of daisies. No wonder they’ve figured prominently. This has morphed into such a cheerful, colorful, wonderful painting. I can hardly believe you have yet another step. I love that shade of green. It makes me happy.

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  19. I’m liking this, as a sucker for flowers. It does have some relationship to the masthead picture, in the flowers and rectangles. It’s very interesting, this process and how it ends up!

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