Dazzling

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With all the trips to Kauai that we make, you might think these two hibiscus flowers were growing there, but they were in a pot on the patio outside our kitchen here in Fairfax (Northern California). They will not survive our winters without protection (we do get frost). In the summers, though, they are quite happy. Alas, this plant is not still with us.

It lives on in this painting.

Beside the yummy color, I liked this image because it has a sense of companionship – the two are aligned, facing the same direction. With all the work I’m doing with PAX and masculine and feminine and partnership, it really spoke to me. I had been scared of all the detail on the surface of the petals – there’s a lot going on there. Recently I’m looking at why that is and realizing that it’s the left brain that both is freaked out about the detail and makes mischief in the painting process. It so gets in the way of making good art.

It’s useful for standing back and analyzing why a particular part of the painting doesn’t read. I find that listening to music while painting helps keep the spacial right brain engaged – and it soothes the overworked left brain too.

My papa gave me the name – it was his reaction to seeing the finished painting. Thanks, Papa.

July 2012 – 22″x30″ – Watercolor on paper