Red Poppies

I wanted to do one more painting before bringing 2025 to a close.  How about some bright red poppies!  I've done similar paintings before and find this style very satisfying to work on and to look at.

Also, I got to visit the Blick Art store in Kansas City and wanted to try out some of my new playthings.  I got a little jar of Gamblin Cold Wax Medium.  It says it's "...made from 100% beeswax... holds the thickest and sharpest marks... for artists interested in creating bold texture...." Now, how could I have left that on the store shelf?!

When I put the tip of my palette knife in to take a bit out, it reminds me of a tiny jar of Crisco shortening.  For this painting, I added a little dollop of it to each of my paint colors.  Yes!  There's so much texture on this one!  I can hardly wait until it's dry enough to run my fingers across it. (Am I the only person who has to remind myself in museums that I mustn't touch because it's highly frowned upon there? I think not.)  I'm going to enjoy this one for as long as it gets to hang on one of my walls. I'm going to enjoy seeing it, and in a week or so I'll enjoy touching it.

Original Oil Painting on 11"x 14" wrapped canvas.

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Pretty Poppies

 It will be many weeks before we see bright red flowers growing.  

I did see that the daffodil shoots are thinking about making an appearance.  They better wait though, more snow's on the way. It's pretty gray outside these days... and by "pretty" gray, I don't really mean pretty at all.... blah...

Maybe I just needed some bursts of brightness.  I'm finally coming back to life after a week of the flu. (Yes, I had the vaccine.) It's been a long time since I've been so sick, and fatigue is real. It's kind of not fair how long it takes to build up muscle and stamina and how quickly it goes away when you lay around for a week.

Before the bright reds wave in the breeze, we'll have the yellows and purples of March and April first. Then there will be some whites and oranges in May and June.  In the meantime, these pretty poppies can brighten my wall.

Original Palette Knife Oil Painting on 12"x 12" Wrapped Canvas

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Pretty Poppies

The Creative Companion challenge was "Red," but I'm not particularly fond of red. I made a list of things that are red that I do like.  Then I turned that list into a little poem for my companion piece.

Red is Just Red

Raspberries, Razorbacks, Rudolph’s nose,

Barns on farms, and boxes with bows.

Chickens’ combs, a cardinal, some cherries,

Ketchup on fries, and small holly berries.

 

Tulips in vases, tomatoes on vines,

A King James version with Jesus’ lines

 

Amaryllis, Anthurium, Gala apples,

Stained-glass panes in old church chapels.

 

A Muppet named Elmo, a melon slice,

A maple in autumn, an on-sale price.

 

The quick zip flash of a hummingbird’s throat,

An A+ grade with the teacher’s nice note

 

Sunsets in summer, stockings in December

Ladybugs, lollipops, and the last burning ember

 

Vermillion, alizarin, venetian, and garnet

Crimson and ruby, rose and scarlet,

Maroon and burgundy, so nearly the same

Red is just red, no matter the name

                                                                            HE

Original Oil Palette Knife Painting on 9"x 12" Wrapped Canvas.

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Field of Poppies

This was by far the largest canvas I've painted with a palette knife.  I was thrilled when I was asked to do it and couldn't wait to get started.

Now that I've done over a dozen paintings in this style, I wanted to reflect on what I like about painting in this way.

💖I love the laying the loaded palette knife on the canvas and swiping the paint off.

💖I love the way colors smear but don't completely mix together.

💖I love the challenge of making blobs and smears look like something more.

💖I love that I get to use up old paint that needs to be used up.

💖I love that it stays in the ugly stage a long time before the image begins to form.

💖I love the loose painterly look of the finished painting.

💖I love to glide my fingers across the texture after the paint is dry.

Original Palette Knife Oil Painting on 18"x 24" Wrapped Canvas
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Poppy Field (Palette Knife)

 

I painted some poppies a few months ago, and as I was doing so, I realized that I don't think I'd ever actually seen any poppies growing.  Since then, I have! And, of course, I loved them! 

Our city has beautiful flower beds around The Square. The beds on the corners were filled with pretty red poppies a couple of weeks ago.

There's always so much to see/hear/taste/smell when you visit The Farmers' Market on The Square.  Fresh fruits and vegetables... flowers... someone wanting a signature on his petition... musicians... someone wanting your vote... pets from the animal shelter that need homes... well-behaved dogs (which means we never take ours)... craftsmen and artisans... friends...

I had two favorites today.  One was a kid who called out to me. "Do you want to hear a joke or see a magic trick?"  I said I'd like the joke.  "What to you call an angry teapot?" Tell me. "Steamed!"  Ha ha. Ok. Not sure how much the joke was worth, but his courage to take up a post and ask with a grin was worth a dollar in his hat. 

My other favorite was this band. Who would have ever thought one old guy singing into a megaphone, his buddy on the banjo, and his other buddy on a marching tuba would be so fun to listen to!  I hope their open instrument case was filled with dollar bills by noon.

Original Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]

Poppies (Palette Knife)

I don’t know much about poppies.  I’ve never grown a poppy, and I’m really not sure I’ve ever seen one growing.  I know the poppies in The Wizard of Oz almost put Dorothy to sleep, and I know that opium somehow comes from poppies.  Those aren’t very positive, but I recently learned that poppies are a symbol for remembering fallen soldiers. That’s good to know. 
I do think they’re beautiful flowers, but my favorite kind is spelled a different way… My four (five soon) grandkids are so lucky to have my Ron for their Pop-E.

I do love the way this poppy painting turned out.  I'm going to enjoy it on my wall until someone decides they need it for their own. I painted them in response to Sara's beautiful poppy portrait photograph on November's Inspiration Collaboration.

Original Palette Knife Oil Painting on 8"x 16" Wrapped Canvas

Click Poppies if you'd like to purchase this painting.