Arlington Garden Irises - A Floral Landscape - by Artist Marian Fortunati

Arlington Garden Irises © Marian Fortunati 12"x9" Oil on Canvas
Click on the above link for details and a Pay Pal link .

Within the city of South Pasadena in the San Gabriel Valley is a community garden called Arlington Gardens.   I've had the privilege of painting there several times in the last couple of years.  Just wandering through the wonderful areas filled with flowers and plants can uplift anyone's spirits.  Congratulations to those who envisioned it and continually make it a place of peace and beauty.

Varieties of irises are endless and it's fun to try to examine them all.  They go from fancy bearded ones to the beautifully delicate and simple ones we found up in the mountain meadow.  They are fun to paint as well.

In my mind, there was a WIP shot showing how the painting was blocked in with less initial drawing than I usually do, but alas, I can't find it.   David Gallup has suggested that drawing things first tends to make us "paint inside the lines" and I know he's right.   I think, however that  one has to have a better rendering skill set to "see" the painting as it emerges from loosely blocked in shapes.  But I will practice...... and practice...... and practice again.

One of my fellow painters suggested that the portrait set-up of this painting always brings Van Gogh's irises to mind, so she thought I should try a horizontal painting of irises to be a bit different.   Although I certainly wouldn't mind having people think of Van Gogh's irises when they look at this, I think I'll take her advice and do a square iris painting next ... for a change of pace AND more practice!

Comment on or Share this Article >>