Still Life of Avocado, Avocado On Red, by Canadian Artist Kim Blair

Another lunch, another avocado...  resting on a red napkin.

It's fun to cut them in half, pop out the seed and eat them with a spoon.  A convenient fast food, it comes with its own dish... no fuss, no muss!

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10x10 oil on canvas

Inner Beauty IX: Pure Elegance, by Canadian Artist Kim Blair

I felt very elegant while painting this piece... and I am not an elegant person, but something magical was happening.   A similar feeling comes over me every time I paint a white flower, or a 'mostly' white flower... and it is difficult to explain.  But if I had to express it in writing, I would say it is a pure, elegant flow of energy, an ethereal lightness that swirls into the paint as it comes off my brush as I try to express the beauty of white.  Pure Elegance transcending time and space...

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10x10 oil on canvas

Floral Painting of a Poppy, Poppy, by Canadian Artist Kim Blair

I enhanced this Poppy painting, which I had posting on June 1st.  Sometimes it just feels right to tweak things a bit... I am happy now.

Poppies and Georgia O'Keeffe have been on my mind...  while browsing through floral reference photos I shot last summer, an oriental poppy jumped out at me.  The perspective had Georgia written all over it, and the colour said 'Kim'... how could I resist?

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18x18 oil on canvas

Inner Beauty VIII: White Swirl, by Canadian Artist Kim Blair

I am enjoying painting white calla lilies... this is my third calla painting in the last week.  Callas have a calming presence... an understated elegance and beauty.  The simple lines of the trumpet shaped flower swirling and catching the light have an ethereal quality.  Like a little black dress, the calla can be dressed up or down, and is always worth purchasing for almost any occasion.
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10x10 oil on canvas

Feature Wall, art by Canadian Artist Kim Blair

Here is a photo of my art hanging on the Feature Wall in an office in Edmonton.  The large iris painting called 'Classic Yellow II' is sold to the office and will be moved to a new location within the office later on, but the other paintings in this grouping are for sale during the office open house tomorrow night.

In the top photo you can see a sliver of the orange wall located in the room behind this Feature Wall.  That orange wall is where the long red poppy painting I posted a few days ago called 'Afternoon Glow' is hanging.

No time to paint today, so I thought you might like to see what I have been up to instead.

Midnight Blue, by Canadian Artist Kim Blair

It seems that Van Gogh did not paint calla lilies... I find that hard to believe, but so far my research is pointing in that direction.   There is some Van Gogh inspiration in this Calla Lily painting though... as I was swirling my brush across the canvas images of 'Starry Night' pop into my head.
The dark blue background combined with the curvaceous lines of the callas created some strange connection in my brain with some of the brush strokes you might see in one of Van Gogh's night paintings.

Too bad he never painted callas, I bet they would have been fantastic!

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12x12 oil on canvas

Afternoon Glow, by Canadian Artist Kim Blair

I thought you might like to see one of my larger paintings.  It is hanging on this fabulous orange wall and later this week there will be a credenza place below it.  Maybe at the office opening on Thursday I will get a better photo with the furniture etc.   I delivered it today and my husband helped me hang it.

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24 x 72 inches.

Inner Beauty VII: Calla Glow, by Canadian Artist Kim Blair

Yes, I do love using bright colours, but I also enjoy painting white flowers.
White flowers are more than white... they contain strong and subtle tones of numerous colours that combine to create the illusion of a white flower.  Gray, blue, purple, green, yellow along with white.... a multitude of hues swirled together... rich oil paint brushed onto the canvas rendering the light and shadow of an elegant white calla lily.

Inner Beauty VII: Calla Glow shows the understated elegance of a simple flower.

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12x12 oil on canvas

Inner Beauty VI: White Beauty, by Canadian Artist Kim Blair

I am getting bored with just giving these paintings a number, so I am going to pop back to each one in this 'Inner Beauty Series' and add a second part to the title, just for fun.  It makes it more fun for me and I assume for you too.

This lily is another fabulous specimen from the front garden of the same friend that Monday, September 8th posting came from.  Oriental varieties have a distinctive fragrance that I adore,  it smells heavenly... although I do know of a few people who find it a touch overpowering in a room.

Fragrance is another tool flowers use to attract insects for pollination purposes.

This lily would be a lovely addition to your home, without any concerns about the scent being overpowering...

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10x10 oil on canvas

Inner Beauty V: Inside Out, by Canadian Artist Kim Blair

For some reason this variety of petunia reminds me of a circus clown.  Perhaps it resembles the ruffled colourful collars that a few clowns like to wear, but whatever the reason, the image is stuck in my brain.   I happened upon this cute bloom during one of my neighbourhood photo shoots.  There is was, perched on the edge of a planter smiling away at everyone walking by.  When the breeze blew it made this fun little bloom dance and twirl, almost turning inside out... putting on quite the show.  It wasn't afraid to show the world its fun side... and if you looked closely you could catch a glimpse of its inner beauty.

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10x10 oil on canvas

Inner Beauty IV: Poppy Pink, by Canadian Artist Kim Blair

"Youthful beauty fades with time, but, with cultivation, inner beauty grows richer." (author unknown)



A flower has so many beautiful stages in its rather short life span.  Each stage is unique...  green shoots popping out of the ground in the spring... delicate stems growing towards the light... fragile petals unfurling... youthful blooms kissed by the sun, swaying in the summer breeze... mature flowers with a few blemishes and wrinkles holding their heads high, strong and wise from weathering the summer storms... golden seed pods swaying in the fall breeze, ready for a winters rest... waiting for the renewal of spring.
Beauty in a Poppy Center...

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10x10 oil on canvas.

Inner Beauty III: Golden Beauty, by Canadian Artist Kim Blair

A friend of mine is growing some gorgeous oriental lilies along her front fence... so how could I resist snapping a few photos for reference...
This particular stargazer lily was bursting with thick, golden orange pollen, delicately balanced on wispy stamens, it looked beautiful and almost comical at the same time.  I was captivated by the fat fluffy mounds of gold, but was wondering how the skinny stems of the stamens could hold up such a load?

Golden fairy dust must not weigh very much...


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10x10 oil on canvas

Inner Beauty II: Orange Heat, by Canadian Artist Kim Blair

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"... this saying first appeared in the 3rd century BCE in Greece.  It wasn't until the 19th century (1878 to be more exact) that it appeared in it's current form in print and is credited to Margaret Hungerford in her book 'Molly Bawn'.

The definition of beauty is complex... and yet simple at the same time.  Beauty resides everywhere you wish to find it.  Sometimes it comes in a flash, sometimes it comes after long contemplation or experience, and sometimes it just is.

Tell me, where do you find inner beauty?

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10x10 oil on canvas

Inner Beauty I: Hollyhock Happiness, by Canadian Artist Kim Blair

Flowers have an inner beauty that we may not notice at first glance.  The exquisiteness of a single bloom maybe overlooked when it is arranged in a bouquet with other gorgeous specimens.  Now, I am not suggesting that you shouldn't purchase artfully arranged bouquets, what I am saying is that the next time you receive some flowers, perhaps you might take a bit of extra time to look closer... marvel at the individual beauty and charm of a petal, or stamen.  Notice the thick, powder pollen that makes up the anthers... the delicate veins running through a transparent petal... the flirty twist of a leaf that is attached to a wispy stem.
Or in this case, the center of a hollyhock...

Let's not treat flowers like fast food.  Instead, let's savory the fragrance, texture and visual pleasure they have to offer.  Take time to stop and smell the flowers!

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12x12 oil on canvas.