Happy Canada Day! by Kim Blair


The beginning sketch...


Half way through the painting... 

Yellow and burgundy bearded iris are staple flowers in many older gardens here in Edmonton, and probably throughout most of Canada.  An heirloom variety it found it's way to Canada with the hardy pioneers who settled this vast country.  Thankfully this flower species as well as the rugged people who transported it to Canada survived the harsh conditions in the New World.

Canada's 150th birthday is definitely the time to celebrate our heritage and all the things we think of as being Canadian... like yellow and burgundy iris and of course... butter tarts!

Happy 150 Canada!

(*The finished painting will be posted next week.)

Cloud White, by Kim Blair


Cloud White
12x9 oil on canvas

While painting this white poppy I kept glancing out my studio window admiring the voluptuous white clouds floating by.  Each cloud looked more ethereal than the next and I began to notice that the poppy I was painting had very similar qualities to the fluffy fullness of the clouds drifting past.


9"x12" oil on canvas (needs some drying time)

sold



Pink Solstice, by Kim Blair


Pink Solstice
9x12 oil on canvas

Here is the completed poppy painting from the teaser blog post over the weekend.  It was a delight to paint... just in time for summer!

9x12 oil on canvas

Sold


Painting in Progress, by Kim Blair

Poppy sketch in oil... ready to start painting


Poppy painting half way to completion


I thought it might be fun to show you my set up for painting flowers... with a second shot of the painting half way to the finish line!  I photographed this hot pink poppy in a neighbourhood garden here in the Highlands.

This fabulous specimen, along with its 'siblings' (multiple heads on this plant) was growing along the side of a home next to an alley.  As you walked up the street (or alley) you were met with a riot of hot pink blossoms dancing in the breeze.  It was love at first sight!
;)

On Monday or Tuesday of next week I will be posting the finished painting... for sale. 

Salted Caramel, by Kim Blair


Salted Caramel
(12"x9" oil on canvas)

Yes, this painting is based on a real Iris, hard to believe I know.

The inspiration for this painting is a luscious, beautifully shaped specimen with rust coloured 'falls' (the lower petals) and caramel-pink 'standards' (the petals standing up) growing in a local garden here in Edmonton.

The rare colour of this particular flower stopped me in my tracks... I knew I had to paint it!

This Iris reminded me of some delicious salted caramels I tasted recently and rather than lick my brush like Van Gogh... I decided to look up a recipe for salted caramels to satisfy my sweet tooth.



12"x9" oil on canvas (needs some drying time)


Origami, by Kim Blair


Origami
(12"x9" oil on canvas)

The word Origami comes from two Japanese words, oru (to fold) and kami (paper) and began as an art form practiced by monks for religious ceremonies and by the elite who could afford paper.

Today origami is a popular creative pastime practiced by young and old with a new 'green' movement utilizing old newspapers and junk mail inserts. Even paper currency can be folded into unique gifts following diagrams created with your currency's specific dimensions!

The numerous twists and folds of this variety of bearded iris could be nature's own form of origami...

12"x9"oil on canvas (needs some drying time)

Dinner in Florence, by Kim Blair


Dinner in Florence...
(watercolour sketch on paper)

Hi Everyone:

The previous blog post you received with a bunch of 'unrelated painting photos and content' all strung together did not make any sense and was not meant as a post... it was sent out by accident.

I was cleaning up a few things on my blog and website getting ready to revamp them later this month and I must have accidentally hit the publish button.
:0(
Sorry about that!

This little watercolour sketch is from our trip to Italy a few years ago... and thought I would share it with you again as an apology for the 'glitch' email.

New flower, fruit and veggie paintings will appear in your inbox from now on instead of glitches!

Thank you for your understanding.

:0)

Kim


Van Gogh Vivid, by Kim Blair


Van Gogh Vivid
(12x9 oil on canvas)

I always get inspiration when I have lunch with Van Gogh! After snapping a few photos of some lovely purple iris in my neighbourhood I sat down for lunch with one of my Van Gogh books and Vincent's charm started to speak to me...

In the book, 'The Secret Lives of Artists' by Elizabeth Lunday I read that the development in the nineteenth century of approximately twenty new brighter and more stable pigments allowed Van Gogh to express his new love of colour.

Thank you Vincent for your pioneering spirit with colour...you paved the way for the rest of us!

12"x9" oil on canvas *(needs a few weeks to dry before shipping)

SOLD