Red Hibiscus - Day 19 of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

Jewel Red Hibiscus

Palette knife painting

Oil on box canvas with sides painted black

30x30x4cm / 12x12inch

See paintings for days 12 to 18

An alternate title for this painting was 'Before the Hail'. I painted this en plein air in my garden in brilliant sunshine. When finished, I took a trip to the shops. While there the heavens opened and we had a tropical downpour. What I didn't know was that a hail storm was happening at home. When I returned my garden was covered in white and many of my plants had been shredded by the hail, including this beautiful hibiscus.

Some close-ups

Magenta Oleander posy still life - Day 11 of the 30 day challenge

Magenta Oleander posy still life

Palette knife painting

15x15cm (6"x6")

Oil on box canvas

Available in my Etsy store

A companion piece to yesterdays painting. This time painted from life.

I looked around the garden for flowers and it is pretty bare of flowers at the moment. Normally in September the plants come back into their own after the summer, but we haven't had any rain in a while so it's lacking much colour. The Oleander however, is still flowering away. I have several, all different colours - I'm thinking of painting the pink ones to form a trio of small posy paintings. 

About this painting

Oleanders are difficult to paint, especially alla prima. I tried to just capture the form of the petals and the general attitude of the flower. The background has more light green in it than appears in the photo, to off-set all that pink. I'm musing on whether or not, the background behind the flower needs to be darker.

White Posy still life - Day 10, 30 paintings in 30 days

White posy still life

Palette knife painting

15x15cm (6"x6")

Oil on box canvas

Available in my Etsy store

I have kept up with the challenge so far painting mostly landscapes which I post on my Joy of Colour blog. Today I took a break from the landscapes and painted flowers. Initially it started out as roses, but wiped it out twice as it just didn't seem to be working. I substituted the white flowers (forgotten what they are called, but begins with p..) form my white roses bouquet painting.

I like the texture of the flowers in this.

This would make a great gift for a flower girl or mother of the bride.

Some close-ups

30 paintings in 30 days progress report

These are my first three paintings for the challenge. All palette knife paintings in oils.

My personal challenges for these paintings were:

1. to paint whites and roses (a double challenge)
2. perspective in this arbor setting
3. show the build up of the the cloud and showcase the dead tree.

The pergola was in Hanbury Gardens just across the Italian border. I loved the light and shadow play. Read about the painting here

The tree is in the Var and I wanted to show how the branches of the tree were set against the sky. Read about the painting here

30 paintings in 30 days Challenge - Mia's White Roses

Mia's White Roses

Palette knife painting

24x30 (approx 10"x12") box canvas

Contact me here about this painting

I have joined up again for another 30 paintings in 30 day challenge (will I never learn?).
This is my first one, actually painted a few days ago because I knew I wouldn't have time today because of family being around for their annual holiday.

About this painting
These roses were a present to my granddaughter from a neighbour, who has almost adopted her as a her de facto granddaughter. 10 year old Mia was thrilled and so I painted them as a reminder and keepsake. The palette knife work gives the roses a lovely 3D effect.

Close-up of the knife work