Gardens have always interested me less as collections of individual flowers than as arrangements of shapes and color. In this garden, the tall leaves rising through the center gave me the structure for the painting, while the flowers provided bright notes of yellow, orange and red against the darker foliage. The quiet lawn on the […]
Category: Garden Series
Along the Garden Wall
Along the Garden WallI was less interested here in describing individual flowers than in the shapes and colors that make up the garden. The curved stone boundary gave me the structure I needed, leading into the darker mass of foliage and the warm fence beyond. I painted this one rather freely, letting the yellows and […]
Colorful Arrangement
The flowers in this garden seemed to arrange themselves into two groups—the softer pinks above and the brilliant yellows below. Against the dark foliage, the yellow roses almost seem to produce their own light. I was interested less in the individual flowers than in the way bright color can organize an entire painting.
Red Roses
The red roses appear at different heights throughout the garden, some bright and distinct, others nearly disappearing into the darker foliage. I liked the way they were scattered across the scene, little spots of red holding the garden together.
Yellow Roses by the Fence
Yellow Roses by the FenceThis is one of two paintings I made of the same corner of our garden. I often return to a subject when I feel there is another painting hiding in it. The subject may remain the same, but the colors, shapes and emphasis inevitably change. Here it was the bright yellow […]
Flowers near the Street
Flowers Near the Street These flowers grow near the edge of our yard, close enough to the street to be passed every day without much notice. What interested me wasn’t any particular blossom, but the way the roses emerge from the darker tangle of leaves and branches behind them. The garden is dense and a […]
Flowers at the Fence
Flower Box by the Patio
This painting focuses on a flower box that lights up the edge of the patio, set against the backdrop of the side yard fence. It’s a modest feature, but it carries a surprising amount of visual energy through layered color and structure. My wife has an intuitive sense for garden building and display, knowing exactly […]
Yellow Flowers by the Fence
This painting comes from another corner of my wife’s backyard garden, where a mass of yellow flowers rises against the weathered fence. She is an expert gardener, and scenes like this are the result of years of knowledge, patience, and careful attention. What caught my eye here was the natural composition: tall yellow blooms lifting […]
Garden at Back Fence
This painting is based on my wife’s backyard garden — a space she has shaped and tended for years with patience, knowledge, and a great deal of quiet labor. She is an expert gardener, and only recently did it occur to me that her work deserved to be documented, not just enjoyed in passing. What […]
Garden with Roses
This garden study comes from the flowers my wife has tended with such care over the years. I’ve always admired her gardens, but only recently did it strike me that they offer endless painting subjects right outside our door. These roses were glowing in the afternoon light, rising above their bed of deep greens […]