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Hello from Sunday night

Happy midsummer eve everyone.

Isn’t it wonderful? I believe most children are out of school now and we’re full steam ahead into that tall meadow, firefly evening magic that is summer.

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With summer comes summer’s bounty, and we made a little trip out to the country to check out some organic farms.
I couldn’t resist this wonderful bundle of the season’s first potatoes and garlic scapes.

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We made some new friends out there and fed them grass and clover.

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And gave them a scratch behind their ears.

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We admired some imaginative planting schemes and bought a few sunflower plants for the garden because I forgot to start some this year.

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When I saw this lovely painting it put me in mind of painting a little, slow grisaille work.

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Do you know the grisaille technique? Actually, I haven’t painted like this for quite some time. It’s the way the old masters would paint. Several coats of translucent oils, starting with a greyed layer, building up into eventual colour. The technique makes for a beautiful, ethereal quality to the finished painting.

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I’m not so sure I’m any good at it anymore, and besides, I never really play by the rules, but thought I’d have some fun with it, so, while I was teaching Chloe some basic silversmithing techniques (evidence on my Instagram), I painted a couple of day lilies and some cow parsley in burnt umber thinned with a glazing medium and let it dry (left).

Today I went back and used more burnt umber, the glazing medium and some white to build up and deepen the shadows and lights.(right).

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Tomorrow I’ll go in with some colour glazes. Actually, looking at today’s work on this photo, I’m not happy with the blending. Not at all. So I’ll leave you with these photos of pretty garden flowers in my vases and go back to my easel and work on those lilies a bit longer.

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Sharing with Judith and the mosaic bunch. 😀

Comments: 9

  • June 22, 2015
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    Good Morning, the visit to the farm looks like a fun time. I would picking out some fresh veggies, flowers and seeing the cute farm critters. The painting is lovely. Beautiful post! Happy Monday, enjoy your new week ahead!

  • June 22, 2015
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    Thanks for sharing the griselle technique with us; I’m quite intrigued to see how the flowers turn out!

  • June 22, 2015
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    These summer days are magical and compel us all to get outside and enjoy them. Your flowers are lovely. I’m always interested in reading about artistic processes – the grisaille technique sounds interesting, and difficult. Thanks for sharing your efforts with us. I hope you keep working on them and show us the stages along the way.

  • June 22, 2015
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    I like a scratch behind the ears, too! 🙂 Fun on the farm … I love seeing the animals. Lovely flowers and I admire your painting. Happy Monday!

  • June 22, 2015
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    The farm looks like fun! Your painting is beautiful!

  • June 22, 2015
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    beautiful picture you are creating there…and I just out up a couple of jars of pickled scapes…mmm!

  • Judith @ Lavender Cottage

    June 22, 2015
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    I like your new farm friends Veronica. 😉 You’ve reminded me, I need to cut my scapes and I see Donna is having some pickled ones.
    When your painting is finished I hope you’ll share it next week, I like what’s there already.
    Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday.

  • daryledelstein

    June 23, 2015
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    looked terrific to me …

  • June 25, 2015
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    Wish we saw more fireflies out here! Also, thanks for sharing about the grisaille method.

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