Iris Garden

This is another painting that I did recently as a demonstration during an acrylic painting class.  The iris is one of my favourite flowers and my wife and I grow them in our perennial gardens on our farm.  I love the combination of blues, purples and yellows that are so common in these tall, majestic flowers.  It is a pity that they bloom for such a short time.

'Iris Garden' by Richard De Wolfe

12 X 9 acrylic on panel

We work quickly in these painting classes as I explain the method while I demonstrate the techniques. At the same time, I try to assist my students with their work, with the goal of helping them successfully complete their painting by the end of each two hour class.

The first step is to loosely place the main objects on the canvas with light pencil lines, just indicating the general shapes.  This way, you have not invested much time in the drawing before you are sure that the placement is what you want.

When you are happy with the placement of the general flower shapes, it is time to refine them, adding basic detail to the petals.  Do not 'over draw' the flowers.  There is no need to labour over excessive detail that would be obliterated when you begin to paint.  Don't get too rigid with outlines either. This way you will not become a slave to lines you have drawn on the canvas.  These are guidelines only!

Now we mix up the basic flower colours and paint the general flower shapes with a large brush.  Some effort is made to preserve most of the construction lines that separate different areas within the flower petals.

Now we add a general background colour using a broad brush and lots of expression in the brush strokes.  Avoid making the background flat and boring.  Give your brush work life and energy.  I use a deep blue and green mixture to emphasize the bright flowers in the foreground.

The next step is to add leaves and stems, again using a large flat or filbert brush.  I mix a warmer, lighter green and apply it in simple, direct strokes.  My goal is to create an interesting and balanced design to support the colourful flowers that are the focal point in the painting.

Now we add darker and lighter variations of the stem and leaf colour, creating a pattern of light and shadows that is consistent throughout the painting.  This allows us to also create an illusion of depth, with leaves and stems overlapping each other and dropped shadows under the flower petals to bring them into the foreground.

We turn our attention to the flowers themselves and add light areas to the basic petal shapes to give them form and detail.  This is done carefully, keeping the light source consistent with our previous work.

In the final minutes of the class, we add deep, rich variations of colour to the flowers.  White highlights are applied sparingly to catch the viewer's eye and hold their attention in a tasteful and not too obious a manner.  Any last minute corrections or additions are made and the signature goes on.  Voila!  Fini!

Still Life Class

Sea Shells by Richard De Wolfe 9X12 acrylic on canvas panel

I decided to try painting sea shells for our first still life class.  The first grouping that I made was more complex, with a little wooden 'treasure chest' spilling strings of pearls and other jewellery onto the table along with all the shells.  When I painted it, I realized it was too much for beginners to complete in just 2 hours, so I decided to simplify it using just the shells.  That worked much better and the students managed to do a great job recreating the scene for themselves.  For me, these small, quick studies are great exercises to loosen up and be a bit more spontaneous.   You can find many of my other works at www.rdewolfe.com.

My wife and I collected these shells (plus many more) along the shore at Atlantic Beach in North Carolina this spring.  I love the multitude of colours, shapes, textures and sizes that wash up on the beaches there!  Walking on the hard wet sand early in the morning is wonderful, especially early in the year before the heat of summer sets in.  Watching the surf roll in and the colours change across the sky makes a morning walk quite memorable.  I hope to go back again soon!