Boldly Painted Magnolias

The soft month of June has arrived bringing bright blue days, afternoon showers, gardenia scented nights and the threat of hurricanes.  Cloud watching becomes a sport.  And the shiny, dark green foliage of magnolia trees cradle large luxurious creamy velvet blooms. 

 

I have always been intimidated about painting the magnolia blossom because it is a giant white flower easy to get wrong and it can be a clichéd image.  Nevertheless, I decided to tackle the tricky Magnolia grandiflora as a symbol of what I adore about the month of June in the south.

 

I focused on single blooms nestled in darkness.  I kept the drawing as loose as possible and painted in and beyond the drawn image to give the paintings more spontaneity.  I added random colors (violet, blue, orange) on various edges of leaves and blooms to create a sense of  dappled sunlight.  To make the white really look bright, I painted the blooms' shadows much darker shades that were a mix of violet, blue, and orange.  That helped harmonize the color scheme and made the brightest white (white with a little yellow added) really pop.  Most of all, I kept the pieces light hearted.

 

So here are the final paintings.  Enjoy!

 

 Mona Vivar, "Magnolia Magnificence", 11 inches by 14 inches, acrylic on canvas

Now available on Ebay at Mona Vivar Fine Art





Mona Vivar, "Shimmering Magnolia", 11 inches by 14 inches, acrylic on canvas

Now available on Ebay at Mona Vivar Fine Art

 

 

 

 

 

 

All images copyright of Mona Vivar 2013.