Blue Belle

I was gazing out our kitchen window when I saw her.  The afternoon light was striking her just so and the resulting lights and shadows were completely captivating to me.  I ran for my camera and shot a number of photographs.  The photograph that I based this painting on has a particularly strong sense of light in the upper left which is offset by a shadow in the lower right.  And the leaf in the lower left accentuates the diagonal composition that I had planned.  I found all the petals of the hydrangea particularly enticing to paint.  I titled this piece “Blue Belle” because the first thing that came to mind when I saw her was a Southern Belle all decked out in her hoop skirt.  I particularly enjoyed painting “Blue Belle” because I shared her development with so many people that visited with me at shows and festivals over the six months that I spent with her.