Monday, June 11, 2007

Lavender Shrubs


Lavender Shrubs
Originally uploaded by linfrye

What is it about some images that just give you one whale of a difficult time! These lavender shrubs - holy moly! I think I went through at least TEN sheets of journal paper before I could render the lavender as I liked it!!! MERCY! First ones, too wet, second too dry, third too stiff, fourth too icky, fifth a blurry mess ... and on and on! Of course, yes, I'm stubborn, so I kept at it, each 'session' (okay, gnarling of teeth -- and no I didn't throw anything though I was mighty tempted!!), I tried to figure out what I did that I liked, what looked 'right' to me, and then redo it .... (you got that didn't you -- TRIED!!!! LOL) Anyway, I"m quite pleased with this final version .. and you can bet your boots, I'm going to do another one just to prove to myself that it shouldn't take nine forevers to do so! lol

By the way, we also enjoyed vanilla and chocolate lavender ice cream, lavender lemonade, lavender shortbread, and the relaxing scent of sachets, lip balm, and more!

To see some photos, go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/linfrye

23 comments:

Tami said...

Were you at a Lavender Festival? I am sorry this took so many tries, sounds just a way too familiar (LOL). The end result is quite stunning though! It looks so loose and unrefined (deceptively so). They truely are pretty!

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean! I think you did a great job with the lavender!! Also kudos for not giving up!!

Teri said...

And all that work was worth every color of it! It is gorgeous!

Margaret McCarthy Hunt said...

Wonderful job....love the yellow with the lavender...guess thats why they are complimentary colors!

Genine said...

The lavender looks fantastic! Sorry it was so frustrating. I hope you feel it was worth it, this really is great!!

Bill said...

Good job on a tough subject with all that texture. You're learning simplicity. The colors work too. Congratulations.

Jenny said...

Oh, it's beautiful! Well worth the effort. Think of all the experience you gained. *lol*

Laureline said...

Lavender is really hard to paint, I think, because it's so insubstantial--just a wisp here, a touch of color there. Hard to sink your teeth (or brush) into it! You've conveyed its nature really well, cara. We need to set up a time for you and Sue and me to sketch!

Anonymous said...

Lin, I really like your lavender shrubs! Who cares how many times u had to do 'em over? You should see how much I erase my stuff--I should take stock in an eraser company!! Lol!

Lindsay said...

I've never tried lavender! Your's look lovely!@

Anonymous said...

Lots of kudos to you for persevering! And it certainly paid off.

Nina Johansson said...

I love your lavender! They look great, lovely colours! Great that you didn´t give up but kept on trying!

Anonymous said...

these are great, very refreshing, but i think they might be making me sneeze today..

MD said...

Fantastic! I like these alot. I hope you feel that the end result was worth all the paper...but I bet the others weren't that bad though!! LOL
Lovely fresh and loose painting.
MD

juj said...

All your hard work and persistance was worth it - the lavendar is jjust lovely. I especially love the loose grouping towards the top on the right. Wish I had been where ever you were - lavendar lemonaide is one of my favs from when I used to work in a French restaurant. Now you've got me craving it - I guess I'll have to make a batch this weekend.

caseytoussaint said...

Well I'm glad you didn't give up - this is lovely! I'm going to try to learn from you before I go to Provence this summer - lavender is an important subject down there!

Carole said...

Well done for persevering! This is perfectly done. I love lavender, and am very jealous of the lavender ice cream!

Brenda Yarborough said...

GORGEOUS job!! I'm sorry it took so many tries, but IT WAS WORTH IT!! This is perfect and is a nice mix of wet AND dry, loose with just enough detail.

Linda said...

Ooooh I know what you mean! I tried a pastel of lavendar, and did and re-did -- finally just took the thing to the back yard and ran the water hose over it to get rid of the mess! :-D Great job on these!

Penny said...

Lin -- I have been so remiss in checking into your website -- I absolutley LOVE this painting of the fields of lavender -- and am totally in awe that you kept at it through 9 renditions!! Very lovely! Penny

Anonymous said...

These are absolutely gorgeous! Great persistent work! You should be very proud.

Terri said...

Love this.

Jana Bouc said...

I can see why this was hard to do, but you nailed it. I love the softness of some and sharp focus of others. Just righ and gorgeous colors.