Summer and periwinkle
June 29, 2009
Starting top left, going clockwise: the blue flowers on the tree next to my house, then jacaranda, campanula, and 2 photos of the lilies of the valley across the street.
I’m taking a step out of my typical posts for this entry. It occurred to me the other day that it’s curious that at the beginning of summer, when the sun is a light, yellowish-white globe in the sky, at its hottest and brightest all year, that many of the flowers that bloom at this time of year are periwinkle, almost perfectly complimentary to it on the color wheel: the jacaranda, campanulas and agapanthus (more poetically called lillies of the valley). They are the most wonderful color of periwinkle (also a fun word to say, and named after a tropical plant related to vinca. Oops, side trip.) Blue violet in juxtaposition to the sun.
So here’s a peek at what I see in my immediate vicinity these days: my neighbor’s jacaranda tree fills the view out the sliding door to my deck; across the street the front yard is packed with agapanthus plants whose buds are about to burst open like violet-blue fireworks. Then there’s the campanula that’s planted in the large pot with one of my plumeria on the deck, lovely star-shaped blossoms overflowing the edge of the pot. And finally, a small tree with amazing little blue flowers that is growing at my front door. I have no idea what they are called, but I love them. If only my blue hydrangea was blue-ming too!
One more for spring
June 22, 2009
“3 Crimson Poppies” ©Jill Rosoff 2009, 10″ x 4″, $65.00
Its no secret I do a lot of paintings of poppies, mostly Icelands. They’re so amazingly bold in color and delicate in structure, it’s a lovely juxtaposition. I had this stray piece of paper leftover from a piece I tore up for a commission, which just meant an opportunity to indulge a little, and voila. I have done more and more of these tall, narrow paintings that are 12″ tall, but this piece of paper was just 10″, and I was happy to find out that the proportion still worked for the style of the composition. There’s still that long, lanky grace.
Happy summer solstice!
Last of the Spring blooms
June 8, 2009
Daffodils, ©Jill Rosoff 2009, 6" x 12", unframed, $85.00
Spring is all about new growth, bright fresh colors, a portentous feeling in the air, and delicate wonderful flowers. It all sings, especially the colors, which are so often what’s in my palette. The blooms from bulbs that only come out this time of year is a fleeting joy, especially since they’re close to impossible to grow in Southern California, and I enjoyed my bulbs in my garden when I lived in the Bay Area. So here is a last gasp of spring in pretty much a Provençal palette.
Summer is around the corner.
Daffodils galore
May 11, 2009
“Daffodils buds on lavender” © Jill Rosoff 2009, 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2 “, $75.00
I like it when the season come around each year, and we get to enjoy the natural flowering of everyone’s gardens. My Cecile Bruner roses are in full bud, and their little pale pink blossoms will open soon and their magnificent, intense fragrance will burst in my nose. My the neighbor’s jacarandas fill the view out my back windows with that incredible rich blue/purple color.
This small work is another tribute to Trader Joe’s and their spring fling with daffodils, with their delicately ribbed petals and wonderful crowns. This little painting features a pale version of the color of the jacaranda, a perfect compliment to the daffodils, in the background.
I’m showing this coming weekend at the Balboa Island Artwalk again this year! It’s on May 17th, along the bayfront walk of Balboa Island. You can find me between Apolena and Coral Streets, just down from Marine Avenue. http://www.balboaislandartwalk.info for parking and location. See you there!
A Daffodil
April 30, 2009
"Single Daffodil" ©Jill Rosoff 2009, 4 1/4" x 6" $55.00
Daffodils are spring to me. Its almost impossible to grow them in So. California, thank goodness for Trader Joe’s wonderfully affordable daffodils! These are interesting to paint, just because of all the textures in the flower petals, in the papery cover that dries up after the buds bloom, and in how the bloom attaches to the stem. This one is just post-card sized.
I’m showing at the Saratoga Rotary Artshow on Sunday, on the campus of West Valley College in Saratoga, CA. www.saratogarotary.org/artshow
One Tulip
March 28, 2009
Tulip bud, purple, ©Jill Rosoff 2009 4 1/2″ x 6 “, $50.00
It’s Spring! The world is in bloom. And the tulip plants are so reasonable at the local Trader Joe’s. This little intimate, postcard-sized study of one tulip blossom and the surrounding leaves shows of just one bloom of the plant. The shape of the flower is unmistakable, and yet the petals take on very organic, almost lip-like forms. The stamen and pistils are so fragile, protected by the petals of the flower.
“Poppies on Sea pattern” ©Jill Rosoff 2008, 4″ x 12″, framed
“Watercolors for Spring”
March 21 to June 13, 2009
Artists Reception, March 21, 2009, 4 to 7 p.m.
WINNOW GALLERY & GOODS
124 Tustin Avenue, Newport Beach, CA 92660 • 1/2 block up from Pacific Coast Highway
http://www.winnowgalleryandgoods.com
Sunflower seeds
January 29, 2009
”Sunflower Seeds in the bud” © 2008 Jill Rosoff. 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ $95.00
My sister Jenny grew a small forest of sunflowers last year. They were literally as tall the roof of her house (one-story), towering above me when I photographed them in her planter in the back yard. They were amazing. The centers of the flowers were a good 10″ across–I thought they could have won a ‘biggest blossom’ contest at the local fair. When she harvested them it was the centers that really amazed me, how the seeds had matured in the bud. Jenny gave me one of the buds, and voila, this painting. Each seed had different striping, it’s own striping, like a fingerprint, the zebra stripes of the plant world. It makes for a great pattern, don’t you think?
Seeing them soldiered together, not in a bag from the market, just the ends visible was a whole new thing, very evocative of the graphics of Asian theater and puppet masks. There’s a wonderful movie from China called “The King of Masks” that these made me think of. Rent it if you haven’t seen it. Its a wonderful story, and the mask ‘performances’ are stunning.
Cacophony of color
January 26, 2009
“Spring Garden” ©Jill Rosoff 2008, all rights reserved. 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″, framed, $195.00
Its such a fun word, cacophony. Happier than ‘riot’. The colors are a big reason I can’t resist Iceland Poppies. And they’re planted in the planters now, its the time of year for these lovely bright, fluttering spots of color in gardens all over the place. When I drive by one of these little bursts of happiness, all I want to do is paint them. Tough to do while driving.
I finished this painting in November (out of season, but I couldn’t hold back when the urge took hold) using source photographs I’ve been taking of Icelands for years. I can’t get over the shapes of the flowers, the petals, how they cling to the stem. They are delicate and crinkly, and the colors are bright and rich and clear, especially when they are backlit by the sun. Happy sigh.
Dreaming of Spring
January 15, 2009
“Single Orange Tulip” ©Jill Rosoff 2007, 6″ x 4″, $65.00
The days are starting to get longer. This time of year starts me thinking of spring flowers, especially bulbs. Tulips. This one is a study of a single tulip flower, of the inside, the stamens and the pistil. I used a favorite color combination again–see the tulips in the column on the right. The deep purply grey background makes the orange light up.
Off to do the Art Under the Umbrellas show in La Quinta on January 17th. In Old Town La Quinta: www. lqaf.com
