I hope you aren't very tired of these blossoms - I've been trying them in oils on small 25x25cm masonite panels, primed with gesso. I was thinking that they might go down well with the locals (at the Art & Craft Fair) who would be familiar with these scenes, as well as giving me some much needed practise in landscape painting. That bright pink bit is a bougainvillea.
I once had lessons with a teacher who thought that too much jacaranda colour in a painting would be a bit sickening - she may have been right! At least it's a small painting...
I hope you aren't very tired of these blossoms - I've been trying them in oils on small 25x25cm masonite panels, primed with gesso. I was thinking that they might go down well with the locals (at the Art & Craft Fair) who would be familiar with these scenes, as well as giving me some much needed practise in landscape painting. That bright pink bit is a bougainvillea. 
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14 comments:
I personally never get tired of jacarandas. These are delightful, C! The top one, from the position of sitting on the koppie;love the foreground, looking down. Reminds me a little of an African version of a Grandma Moses painting.
On the second one - the light coming through the purple is wonderful. That middle blue area needs something though? (In my humble opinion...) Some branches? Some light coming through... I dunno? Maybe not. But I do find my eye gets stuck on that bit...?
Ja, no - I've been bothered by that bit a lot - it's too solid - hadn't decided what to do about it... the photo I took has no light or dark in that area, but I think I must go back and look, to see what to do... Thanks for your input, I really appreciate an objective view after squinting at it too long! XX
Grandma Moses is starting to feel like where I'm headed ! :o)
How can you ever have too much of such a good thing? They're fabulous! The first seems to me to have such a sense of J'bg as an old mining town, and I love the surprise of the pink. Love the complementaries in the second, and I agree that bit of blue is a bit solid (only once you mentioned it) and could have just a touch of light or some of the mauve behind to break it up. It could be just a question of variety of strokes. Not a big deal, because the overall really works.
wow--I've never seen a jacaranda; I love the color. And I don't think it's too much (I'm a purple partisan). I love the tree trunks! You've got the right idea to use reds and oranges to offset the purple; I'm thinking of Bonnard: he used a lot of this jacaranda color, always with red-to-yellow in the composition too. Perhaps a bit of one of these warmer colors could be mixed into the jacaranda foliage, in a small, select area, to vary it, as Gillian suggests?
Looking again(can't see it while commenting) I think maybe the mass of blue follows the curve of the branch too closely,with that white outline.
Vivienne, that's Melville from Emmarentia Ridge...was an early working class village that farmers flocked to after the Boer War - from the British scorched-earth policy. Thanks for helpful suggestions - think you're right about that branch.
And Laura - thanks for reminding me about Bonnard's colours (which I adore!) - I painted an orangey-red ground first and could allow more to come through.
Your colors in both paintings are wonderful (I see you're as good in oil as you are in watercolor!). Love that richness of color without being overpowering. The village scene is my favorite.
I did not know that about Melville. It is one of the prettiest parts, and the tumble of old cottages, including your earlier home, delightful. I must search out Bonnard again - and Vuillard for his stripes!xx
Turner said to a young painter who was battling with a rather insipid painting with a wee bonfire minisculely tucked away in a lanscape...the maseter siad "PUT MORE FIRE IN IT"
This lesson is evident between your two paintings here - the top lanscape has wee jacarandas & the closeup one has the violet as the dominant colour, which was of course the real subject of the painting...
How monet would have loved these trees
Have you done something to the blue center bit? It looks like it? Some delicate branch strokes in there - and tiny bits of light - very subtle...? Ha ha - that will be funny if you haven't done anything and I'm imagining all this!!
(Hi Adam!)
Thanks Adam - insipid is not what I'm after :-)! I'm trying to reproduce the violet blush that infiltrates the landscape and comes into focus as the trees are closer - have a long way to go to achieve that (another one in the pipeline)
Ha ha GH :-D you always had a vivid imagination - I have worked on the blue centre, but haven't put it up here yet... it's the same one!
Ha ha ha !! That is funny! Well... TODAY my eye does not stick on the blue center bit like it did 5 days ago! I had a good night's sleep, so maybe I'm blinking better...
Truly delightful pieces. I agree on the blue but it doesn't bother me... I'm a blue lover
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