Location: Hana, Maui
Size: 2 panels 12" x 48" each
Medium: Oil on stretched canvas
Artist's Comments: When one of my interior designer customers asked me to paint a large portrait of a flower I was a bit apprehensive to agree to the project since I have never painting flowers before. I was worried that this subject would require obsessive paint strokes to capture the minute detail and delicacy of each individual petal. But the intrigue of doing something new got the better of me! Just returning from a wonderful trip to the jungles of Hana, Maui where the wild flowers grow in abundance right on the side of the road. Two particular images immediately came to mind one of which was a bold grouping of heliconia where a deep red _ and a softer pink _ called a small patch of jungle home. Their tall slender stalks barely supported the heavy flowers as every inch of their being seemed to reach toward the sky. The difficulty in approaching this subject was to decide how to create a focal point since all of the flower buds were so striking. With the memory of my John Cosby workshop still fresh; I quickly decided to use a play of light and dark to create a focal point on two of the largest blooms. The sense of filtered light needed to be carefully considered to provide the feeling of light landing on the flowers and surrounding leaves but without taking the viewers eye off the canvas. It was a difficult journey but once completed, I am very happy with my jungle flowers!
To view other paintings in my collection, click on the section labeled "View all SitaScapes" located at the top right of my blog. I have categorized my paintings by the month as I complete them.
