Japanese Garden

Saw our first Corn Poppy of the spring this morning, YIPPEE! You can see the tops of the Canna Lilies popping up behind them.

The Redbud Tree, in the center above, is just beginning to pop out in its pink blooms. The Loropetalum Bush below it is already covered in chenille-like hot pink flowers. Peggy Martin Roses climb the arched trellis in the background. The small tree to the right is Almond Verbena, which has the most fragrant white blossoms in the summer. In another couple of weeks this bed will be covered in Red Poppies. I absolutely love spring. To enlarge any of these pictures just click on the image.

Since our Canna Lilies are just peeking out of the soil, I have to go to our reference file for my models. Using the edge of a large, bright brush the broad colorful foliage is blocked in. I use greens mixed from various proportions of Ultramarine Blue + Hansa Lemon Yellow. A few leaves of Alizarin Crimson are brushed in to add variety.

When painting waterfalls I’ve learned to block in the rocks first. Then I pull the water over the rocks. This picks up some of the color underneath, making the upright plane darker. The flat surface of the water is lighter because of the sky reflecting down on it.

Moving back to the Canna Lilies the orange blossoms are painted with the corner of the same brush used for the leaves. A mix of Cadmium Orange + Alizarin Crimson is used to block in the flowers first. Then I come back with pure Cadmium Orange for the highlights.

The straplike leaves of the Iris are painted with the same brush as the Canna Lilies. It’s amazing the wide array of brush strokes you can make with one brush.

The yellow Irises are Cadium Yellow Medium with Alizarin Crimson centers. I decided to put water grass behind the Great White Egret, flowers here would distract from the elegant bird. The waterfalls are now finished, notice the brightest part of the flowing water is the top edge as it goes over the falls. The movement of the water catches the sunlight and glistens. Tomorrow we should finish up, come watch! Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

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