White Poinsettias

"White Poinsettias" -- oil on canvas 36x36" -- Margie Guyot

I'm a notorious poinsettia-killer.  I don't know why they die so quickly for me.  So I had to move FAST and paint these in a hurry!  This is another type of painting where it's important to control one's panic.  So many leaves!  So easy to get lost and quit in frustration.  It must be all the years on the assembly line at Ford that has taught me to be patient and to "keep on going".  

I love a good, mussed-up tablecloth!  I used to avoid folds and wrinkles in fabric; now I find them addictive.  Hey -- up north, here in the "hinterlands" -- what else is there to do?  Housework?  Ach.  Better to paint.  

At the end of each painting session I had to remove the poinsettias.  There are 2 young cats in my studio that love to rip apart anything "dangly".  And it goes without saying that each night the kitties took great pains to totally rearrange the fabric.  Oh well -- they're adorable.  I have to forgive them.

Those glass ornaments are old as God.  They were old when I was a kid, back in Iowa.  The strand of colored lights was added at the end.  I'm still not entirely sure this painting is finished.  Calling it done for now.