Red Poppies

After a busy day Friday running around, I have not gone anywhere in the car all weekend. Unusual for me. Usually I'm running errands or taking my kids somewhere, but this weekend I was grounded. That was o.k. by me.

I got to spend time in the studio Saturday and Sunday. Again, I switched gears and worked on some new paintings. This time I had a very good reason.

In two weeks, the Mpls Institute of Arts is accepting submissions for their once-every-decade "Foot In the Door" exhibit. Any Minnesota artist may submit a piece of art, as long as it fits in a 12x12 box and you bring it to the museum during the specified days. I have gone to this exhibit one time, but never submitted. I remember seeing the exhibit 20 years ago when my kids were young. It's a very interesting exhibit--work is hung from the floor to ceiling!

Well, this year I am planning to submit a painting. I have known about the exhibit for months...it's been in the back of my mind...you would think I'd have a painting done by now, but...like a lot of artists, I work better under pressure...right?

Part of it is that I don't frequently paint 12x12...but for this opportunity I will. I've thought alot about what it is want to paint for this show...it's hard, because you want something to grab people's attention. And I thought it best not to paint something with lots of detail, because this painting could literally be hanging 12 feet over people's heads!

So finally this weekend I started working on these red poppies. I may still do something else, but I liked how this went this weekend.

 

 

Actually, I worked on two 12x12's (pictured above), along with these smaller ones (8x8's, 6x8's).

 

I didn't finish these, but made good progress. I think the red/orange flowers (with a pink undertone) look very vibrant against the charcoal background. These are painted on gallery canvases--with sides that measure 1 3/8". I continued the charcoal gray on the sides--so there is no need to frame. Even if I don't pick one of these 12x12's for the Foot in the Door show, I'm excited to see what they will look like when done. 

Some days it's just good to paint something you love...and I loved painting these!