Rose Floral Oil Painting by Della Burgus

Song of Praise

Rose

Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

12 x 12 x 1.5

One of my favorite roses from the garden. The center is a a deep orangish red which quickly pales to a light pink salmon and then to cream colored outer petals.  I have no idea of the name of this particular variety but it is beautiful and the fragrance is out of this world. When I see a rose, or any other flower for that matter, I want to bury my nose in the blossom and fill my lungs with the fragrance. I did this painting with that point of view in mind. Did  you know that some of the modern varieties of roses, and many of those found in floral shops, have very little fragrance or even none at all? A number of the newer varieties have been bred for their size, color and long lasting blooms.  In order to gain all that, the fragrance has been lost. There is a lesson in there somewhere. Could it be that in our desire to create something bigger and tougher, we have lost its very essence? Is big and long lasting really better  than delicate and sweet smelling? Maybe, just maybe, God had the best idea in the first place.
And as I was thinking this morning, that goes for people too. We seem to waste a lot of time trying to remake each other into our own image, when we could be enjoying and appreciating all the wonderful, beautiful creations that God made. While it is true that we all could use a little work, it is really God's job to fix things not ours and, believe it or not, He can handle it. After all hasn't He  managed quite beautifully all these millennia without anyone's help? And the really great thing is, He knows our flaws and somehow manages to love us anyway. Maybe if we would try to do the same, it would be a happier world.

This painting is on gallery wrapped canvas, 1.5 inches thick. All edges have been painted, no fasteners show. It is intended to be displayed without a frame. It has been listed on Chisholm Trail Art, Daily Painters Gallery, Art Helping Animals and is available from my Zibbet Shop, Art by Della Burgus.

Floral Art Purple Iris Flower Oil painting and a Ninja Art Warrior

Has This Ever Happened to you?

Have you seen him? We all know he is there. The studio monster that hovers around your easel, watching your every move, waiting for the first opportunity to devour your work? I am not talking about the dreaded "artist's block," that loathsome force that inexplicably prevents an artist from venturing within twenty feet near her easel.  No, this is no mere block. It is definitely alive - and very deadly.  The attack begins quietly enough with some little interruption,  an innocent phone call or knock at the door.  Perhaps the laundry needs your attention or you decide to watch the television program that has been advertised. That one little incident causes you to lose your concentration and soon everything spins out of control. You begin dropping your palette, spilling turp, losing brushes.  Odd things suddenly appear on your canvas -  shapes and colors you have never imagined and never wanted to see.  You raise your paintbrush in defiance, boldly vowing to fight to the end.  But as the battle wears on, you find yourself weakened and scarred, the brush becomes too heavy to hold, and you are standing in the midst of paint covered ruins.  All around you is devastation.  The horrible thing on your canvas is nothing but a reminder of your incompetence, your complete lack of talent. Whatever made you think you could paint?  Though a part of you longs to drown it in the river or cut it up into a thousand pieces, you can't quite bring yourself to do that - at least not yet. Why give the monster the satisfaction, why let him have a souvenir of your humiliation?  Besides, maybe someday...

Time passes.  The painting sits alone and abandoned in the back of your studio - and in the back of your mind.  Gone but not forgotten.  Until one day by chance you run into it again.  And you think, why, this isn't so bad! It just isn't finished yet.  All it needs is a little highlight here, a little shadow there, a little work on the background.  Okay, a lot of work on the background.  But it has good bones, it can be brought to life.  And so once again you pick up your paintbrush - this time not to fight but to dance.  Paint begins to flow together in perfect harmony and without effort.  Then the phone rings, but you let the answering machine take it. That is what you bought it for, right?  The laundry will be done tomorrow and it is summer so everything on TV is a rerun.  You finish the painting, and it looks exactly as you had envisioned it in the beginning.  You like it! You actually like it!  And that is all that matters because all is now right with the world.

The moral of this story: Never give up. Never, never, never give up.

The Result:
Purple Iris
Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas, 1.5 inches deep
12 x 16
Available through Daily Painters
Art Helping Animals
Chisholm Trail Art

Flowers White Peony Oil Painting

White Peony
Remembrance
Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
12 x 12 x 1.5

Peonies are the sort of transition flower, between spring and summer.  In my part of the world they are often blooming on Memorial Day, and I remember my Mother arranging huge bouquets in Mason canning jars to take to the cemetery to decorate the graves.  I believe that hers were mostly red and pink, but I found this one in Minnesota several years ago while vacationing near Grand Marais.  I took a photograph mostly for the novelty of seeing a peony in bloom in July - their growing season is much different from ours.  I thought at the time it would make a nice painting, but it took me all these years to develop the skills and the patience to attempt such a feat.

This is another in my series of close up paintings of flowers. It may have been somewhat inspired by the work of Georgia O'Keefe, although my style is entirely different.  I wasn't consciously thinking of her when I began to realize that my point of view is somewhat different from that of many artists.  It happened on a painting trip with my husband to the North Shore of Lake Superior.  We had been painting at various spots along the shore for a few days when one morning I looked out over the water and saw a quiet lake,  much like the lake I had painted the day before, some rocks that resembled those I had already painted and some trees...well, you get the picture.  So did I, several times already.  Then I turned around and there it was!  A tiny blue flower on the end of a long delicate stem  - and it was growing out of the smallest of crevices between two rocks!  Such unexpected beauty, as well as some deep symbolism which I still haven't quite figured out, but it made a great painting.  Unfortunately, I did not take any photos of the painting and it found another home a long time ago,  but I will never forget that "ah ha moment."

 I learned two important lessons on that trip:
1. When you find yourself unable to move forward, change your point of view.
2. Always take a closer look.


 It reminded me of the first verse of a somewhat long and rambling poem by William Blake,   
To See the World in a Grain of Sand:

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour. 

I have always loved those particular lines.  In one way or another, it is what all artists do.

This painting is on gallery wrapped canvas,  1.5 inches deep and is meant to be displayed without a frame.  I think it is my favorite of this series so far, but then I have said that about all of them.  It is listed on Daily Painters and Art Helping Animals and I hope to have it on Fine Art America soon.

Dinner Plate Hibiscus

Hibiscus

Passion 
Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

12 x  12

1.5 inches deep

The newest in my series of garden flower portraits is called a "Dinner Plate Hibiscus," because it is supposed to be the size of a dinner plate,  though I am sure that eating all the food on something so big would make me gain weight!  The hibiscus is often considered a tropical plant, but this one is a hardy variety that does very well in my part of the country.  It usually blooms around the middle of August and it is well worth the wait. With its oversize, vibrantly colored  blooms the hibiscus could have been the centerpiece flower in the Garden of Eden. Seeing it takes my breath away. What is such a lush exotic plant doing in my garden?

I have always loved flowers and have painted them many times over the years, but this series is new and a little different.  Each painting is in oil on gallery wrapped canvas,  either 12 x 12  or 12 x 16 inches in size and extra deep  - 1.5 inches.  No staples show on the sides and the edges are part of the painting, so no frame is needed.  It is a contemporary look that would also feel right at  home in a traditional setting, small enough to be displayed in a grouping, but large enough to hang alone.  All   but one have come from my garden.  The White Rose came from a floral shop and was in a Valentine bouquet from my husband!  There is something delicious about getting  right up into a flower to take in all its incredible beauty and detail.  It completely  fascinates me.  The response has been tremendously encouraging and I plan to keep painting them for a while.  I can't imagine either running out of flowers or growing tired of painting them.

We are coming out of several days of rain, though no severe storms this time around.  The bright red flower makes me think of the warm summer days ahead.  Maybe we might even see the sun today.  The weather man says so, but I am having a little trouble trusting him....

Have a great day! 

Floral Painting Series

Love in Any Language

Pink Rose

Original Oil on Canvas

12 x 12 x 1.5

No longer available

I began this series earlier this year - well, actually the first was painted last year, but I didn't realize it would become a series then.  I had purchased a square canvas, 12 x 12, with deep sides and decided it was just the perfect ground for a close up painting of one of the pink roses from the garden. The painting received many positive comments, and before long an entire series developed from that experience.  There are countless varieties of flowers with infinite color combinations so this series should keep me fascinated and busy for a long time. I love, love, love, painting color and light,  love painting close ups, and find myself wondering if I am in heaven when I am working on them.  Well, part of the time, anyway.  Every painting has its "difficult passages" -  that is what artists euphemistically call those times of absolute frustration when you are ready to tear the piece to shreds or take it down to the river and drown it.  It is during those times when as an artist you just have to grit your teeth and keep going until you see the light at the end of the tunnel. But even then there is joy because you are living your passion.

Though I have been painting flowers for years, this format just seemed to click with my close up viewpoint. While the style is realistic, the composition tends to be a bit abstract, so the look can be either modern or traditional and they aren't intended to be framed, so that is one less hassle.  At this point there are two sizes: 12 x 12 for the smaller, rounder blooms and 12 x 16 for the more complicated shapes.  It makes them easier to design, ship, store and much less complicated to pack and display for art shows and fairs.  And people can mix and match them for a great arrangement.

All the flowers in this series have found good homes: two iris, two roses and one amaryllis.  I will be hard at work on the next one as soon as I figure out what it will be.  I have been blessed with lovely gardens through the years - great flowers to paint and photograph.  The pink rose, above, was done from photos I took in the garden, the white rose below from a Valentine's Day bouquet.  The iris used to grow in our garden but we lost it during an especially wet spring a couple of years ago.  When we find this particular color again, we will replace it.

All of these, as well as a white iris and a scarlet amaryllis have been purchased, so I guess it is time to be painting more flowers.   Wonder what the next one should be...

Love in Bloom

White Rose

Oil on Canvas 

12 x 12 x 1.5

No longer available

Light Play

Iris

Oil on Canvas

12 x 16 x 1.5

No longer available