"Oranges on a Bluebird Cloth"

"Oranges on a Bluebird Cloth" -- oil on canvas 24x24" -- Margie Guyot

I found this old tablecloth at a resale shop somewhere.  It's all hand-sewn and I think it's some kind of silkscreen print, possibly from Japan.  The blues are vey delicate, ranging from pale to deeper blue, plus some gray areas.  I'd been all set to paint in butterflies, but golly gee wilikers -- to my surprise, they were little bluebirds!

Winters up here along the northwest coastline of lower Michigan are typically dark and dreary.  We might have sunshine only 1 day each month.  I have my still life setups next to a south-facing window, hoping to catch some sense of sunlight.  Many painters swear by north light, but I love the strong contrasts of sunlight and shadow.  I didn't get any sunny days while painting this, so the shadows are very soft.

This painting is another example of how I love to do paintings in predominantly contrasting colors.  Life is just too short to stick to beiges and browns!  I guess there's a part of me that's like a tropical bird, sitting high in a tree, dressed in gawdy, screaming reds and blues and greens, shouting "More!  MORE!!!!"

Japanese Tree Peonies

 "Japanese Tree Peony #1" -- oil on canvas 6x6" -- Margie Guyot

 "Japanese Tree Peony #2" -- oil on canvas 6x6" -- Margie Guyot

 

Yikes!  Once again I've fallen behind on my blog posts!  And my Internet service is running slow this morning.  Still, an attempt to catch up a little this morning.  It's kind of a miracle I have any Japanese tree peonies at all.  I'd bought several plants at a moving sale about 5 years ago.  It was in the 90's.  From what I'd read about these plants, they should only be moved in early spring, in cool temperatures.  Somehow they survived being moved twice: first, to my house in Farmington Hills, and a second time, to my house up in northern Michigan.  They're quite beautiful when they bloom, but the blooms only last a couple days.