Gladiolus, June 18th

Here is my latest painting. It is titled "Gladiolus, June 18th".

It is named for my daughter Alaina's birthday. Alaina's favorite flower is unusual. She loves gladiolus. I've always grown them and she received her first flower bouquet of these when she was a small child and had a dance recital. They were so big and impressive to her. It is a tender time for me on her birthday. Wherever she is, I will have blooming gladiolus in my yard on her birthday. They are glorious, always, on that day.

I began this painting of my yard on Feb. 5th, 2010 at the Huntsville Museum of Art. I was taking a painting workshop with Helen Vaughn, a wonderful well-known artist. The composition of the painting is tricky. There are many elements of shapes in green. The blue birdbath had to stand out, but not take over the painting. The yellow glads needed to fan out and be very large. I loved the base of the glad leaves and the way they gracefully climb through the painting. The little tree is unusual. It is a young Elberta Peach tree. It's leaves get large and long. Finally, the sunlight at noon in June is strong. There is a beautiful arched shadow on the column of the birdbath. The sunlight had to lead into the painting and hit the fallen leaves in the water. This was a complex and difficult painting. I'm very happy with the outcome though.