June Iris

It's hot, windy and the Japanese beetles are everywhere outside, so I'm trying to catch up with my blog posts.  I'd been too busy painting for the past month.  This latest entry shows most of the iris I've painted in the past couple weeks.  Most are from the Iris Farm, west of Traverse City.  The 2 "black" iris popped up in my yard.  I don't think I could pick a favorite color, although the "black" ones were kind of fun, for a change.  It was heavenly, sitting in  my studio, painting these -- and smelling them. 

I've planted dozens and dozens of iris along both sides of my long driveway.  They're pretty much finished blooming, but when they were in bloom, the smell was unbelieveable!

All were painted from life, in oils, on 6x6" stretched canvas.