The Artist's Garden
Watercolor Painting by Dennis Pendleton. My artist friend, Rod Goebel, had a fabulous home studio in Taos with a spectacular garden and I did this painting of the flowers against the adobe wall in his front yard. The yellow lilies surrounded by the blue and violet flowers were the main attraction and I painted them just slightly off center. Having the wood trellis full of flowers on the left and the exposed adobe wall on the right completed the composition. As for color, I didn't really change or rearrange any colors because Rod planned all his gardens as an artist rather than a gardener. The warm yellow lilies surrounded by the cool blue and violet flowers also creates a stunning "effect." Different colors emerged all summer and the possibilities for painting were endless.
For values, the only change I made was to darken the area around the yellow lilies so that they appeared more dramatic. Size relationships is also an important part of the composition which you can see where the big lilies are surrounded by little flowers and leaves creating a dramatic contrast. I love to leave clues that show how the artist worked and, if you could see this painting in its original size 22 x 30 inches, you would see visible brush strokes, spattering and even some pencil lines. My intention is never to paint photographic realism but rather to capture an impression and show the affect the subject has on me personally. You can see how, here and there, a flower is more detailed and surrounded by bits of color that represent other flowers. Having every flower painted in sharp detail would have resulted in a totally different painting. Leaving some things to the viewers imagination is something I enjoy.
The adobe wall is a mixture of cobalt violet and yellow ochre in a light value that captures the sunlight and the lilies are lemon, cadmium, and ochre yellows so that they vibrate between warm and cool temperatures. The blue flowers are cerulean, cobalt, and French ultramarine and all the different greens are mixtures of yellows and blues plus olive.
In April, I will be teaching an ONLINE class titled "Blossom Time in Watercolor" at the Art Students League of Denver (Click Here For More Info) which will be a nice prelude to my three weekend workshops at Denver Botanic Gardens (Click Here For More Info) sponsored through my studio this summer. Happy Painting! Dennis
