Adri's Palette

There is no other season that I enjoy as much as summer! All that sunlight, warm weather (ok, this summer it was rather the scorching heat), the balmy scents in the air. This is the time for the flowers to bloom, the fruits to ripen. What effort, love you have given your garden comes to fruition during this season. The intense colors and aromas are mesmerizing!

There is one flower in particular that I love with this same intensity, the coneflower. For me its colors, its vibrant presence in the garden is the essence of summer.

Luckily my mother has planted coneflowers in her garden this season. I have been able to enjoy them from their early bloom, watching them develop one vibrant head after another until they created the golden carpet I treasure. So intense is their presence, that I decided to bring them into our home. Permanently!

I sat in the garden one day and started to make a quick sketch. I didn’t look for too much detail, rather focused on the heads, as I wanted the colors to be the feature later on. Among these bright yellow wonders were  hidden some echinacea. I decided they must be included in the painting as well.

I used gouache and acrylic paint on a canvas that I washed earlier with a greyish-greenish tint. A color that closely resembles the stone wall before which the flowers are planted. Although I wanted the color of the flowers to be the focal point, I decided the green leaves must have a great presence as well. I chose to paint them in a Diego Rivera fashion, making them vibrant and luscious.

And this is the final painting, my blooming coneflowers for our home.