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MEDIUM: Watercolor on Paper
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SIZE: Image Size 29.5" x 29.5"
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STATUS: Original is SOLD
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PRINTS: Giclee prints available (contact Judy)
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ACCOLADES: Juried into the Art in the Airport exhibition at McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, TN, from April - October 2021. Only 41 works were chosen from 484 entries from artists in the 33 counties of East Tennessee. ALSO voted in the top 5 equal "People's Choice" awards at the 2022 Art Show of the Tellico Village Art Guild
"Flowers continue to be one of my favorite painting subjects. I pondered ways of depicting this lovely red poppy from my garden to make it more unusual than simply a flower portrait. I cut the rectangular watercolor paper into a square and drew an inner circle, making the single sunlit poppy the obvious focal point. I left a deckle-edge look around the light border of the circle and added a bit of shadow below the circle to make it look like a sheet of painted paper attached to the background. Barnboard textures are another favorite subject of mine, and I felt the neutral colors in the background would provide contrast to the flower while allowing it to be the star.
To paint this in a traditional watercolor manner, I used masking fluid to preserve the white of the paper in certain areas. I applied transparent washes and glazes of color, building layer upon layer to depict the effect of the sun illuminating the flower and foliage. The very dark background heightens the drama of the scene, and the contrast of hard and soft edges aids in creating dimension.
I chose the title "Remembrance" in reference to the red poppy symbolizing the memory of fallen soldiers from the poem called "In Flanders Fields" by John McRae.
