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Monday, July 04, 2011

Bearded Iris ~ WIP 1




The Iris Farm
5385 E. Traverse Hwy
Traverse City , MI 49684

After attempting to paint another landscape and failing miserably (several times) I lost my momentum. It happens. I hate when it happens but it happens. I always feel better when I have something on my easel and after just so long I was ready to paint anything just to get my brushes wet again. I found some photos from 2006 I had taken at the Iris Farm, six acres of prime farm land devoted entirely to just about any variety of bearded iris one can imagine. The farm belongs to William Alpers of Traverse City, Michigan and when the irises are blooming it's a sight to behold.

I chose a photo of bearded iris, 'Chasing Rainbows' as my subject. I love all the colors in the falls(side petals) and the deep ruffling. I hope I can do it justice.

10 comments:

vivien said...

Absolutely beautiful Billie

laura said...

Your iris is gorgeous--great drawing and color, and I love the wavy brushwork.

Billie Crain said...

Thanks so much, Vivien.:)

Billie Crain said...

Thank Laura and welcome to my blog!

Jeanette Jobson said...

Wow, this is a beauty. Excellent colours and shapes. They are lovely flowers and a whole field of them...amazing.

Crystal Cook said...

Wow, this is just amazing! I LOVE the elegant feeling here. SImply beautiful work Billie. I'm glad I found your blog. :)

Billie Crain said...

Jeanette, they are complicated flowers for sure. Sorting out all those ruffly petals and whatnot has been a challenge for me as I'm not a patient artist. I'm happy that you like my progress so far.:)

As for the iris farm, it's nothing short of incredible when all the irises are blooming.

Billie Crain said...

Thank you Crystal and welcome to my blog! I took a peek at your blog and was really impressed with your portraits. I'll be popping back in to see your other work soon.

Anita said...

Watching this closely as I am hoping to learn from you. This watercolour thing is scary!

Billie Crain said...

It's kinda scary but exciting as well, don't you agree? Not so easy to recover from flubs as other mediums which adds to the experience.

I just commented on your sunflowers on FB. Wowzers! You are doing just fine, IMO. Don't worry about control and just keep playing in the water and paint. The less you try to control this medium the better your results will be.