Spring is Slow, but the Project Continues

Here in Montreal everyone has pretty much had it with the cold rainy weather. In spite of that, the trees are leafing out and daffodils and tulips are blooming. I'd rather have an attenuated spring than the kind that simply arrives one day with a blast of summer heat - but this one has been especially long and cold. It's good, though, for my project of painting budding trees and tree flowers!

Above is a picture of my set-up -- a pretty rudimentary but adaptable and functional binder-clip system for holding the branches suspended naturally against a white background.

Below is a process photo of this particular painting, of the long catkins that are the flowers of paper birch trees. I need to do a pretty detailed drawing first, so I take time with that. The structure of the branches and flowers are important in conveying the weight and "style" of the blossoms. As I draw, I study the color too, and think about how to show the shapes in the final painting.

Here, it wasn't necessary to draw every single little circular bloom once I understood how they worked. What was crucial was to draw the central stem from which the blooms emanate - like the string on which  pearls are strung. It's not perfectly straight, which helps to give the correct impression that the catkins are very light. I also look for patterns: are the little circular blooms offset, or opposite each other, or do they coil around the stem in a spiral? When the observation is accurate, the painting proceeds much faster too, because I've got the structure and growth-pattern clearly in my head.

 

Below, a pencil drawing of a branch of a budding horse chestnut that I found during a bike ride in Maisonneuve Park. What a great shape it has!

I also did the pen drawing below, one evening before the leaves started to fade and droop. I felt it would make a good painting in acrylic or oil, with the little jug turned around and moved to the left to form more of a triangular shape with the stem, echoing the triangles of the leaves. Unfortunately I think I've missed my chance to do the painting from life this season, but maybe I can work from these drawings.

Finally, this was yesterday's effort. I was staring up at a magnolia tree where all the blossoms were above my reach, and then saw this fallen bloom on the ground at my feet. That was an "a-ha" moment; I brought it home and painted it immediately.

I'm not sure where I'm going with these paintings; I'm just trusting the process to show me. So far, it was been quite rewarding and satisfying, and it's given me an excuse to get outside and look at spring differently.

If you have favorites, I'd be delighted to hear which they are, and why!