Color for a Grey Day

How nice it is to be able to enjoy a touch of the tropics on a cold, grey New England winter day!

For the third year, the Haverhill Arts Association is holding a "Paint-In" inside the greenhouse at Nunan's Florist and Greenhouses in Georgetown, Mass. For three Sundays, we set up our easels, settle with in our sketchbooks, sculpt in clay - or work in whatever medium we choose - anywhere the main greenhouse at Nunan's. 

It is so amazing to work among all the color and beautiful tropical plants during the usually dreary month of January. There is colorful inspiration everywhere:

I usually have a hard time deciding where to paint - there are so many lovely things here! Besides the beautiful plants, there are wonderful statues, colorful pots and all kinds of fun accessories. Sometimes, I choose to set up a little still life. Other times I just  zoom in on a single plant. Then greenhouse is  usually fairly warm and bright, which makes it a pleasant place to be in the middle of winter.  It is also quite humid - which makes it a bit extra challenging to paint with acrylics.  I am used to painting quickly, in thin layers  - so paint that won't dry can be a bit difficult and requires me to be flexible. This year I decided to try working on canvas, since in the past I found that the paint on panels wouldn't dry at all. Experimenting always keeps things interesting!

One Sunday, I picked out a lovely tropical plant in oranges and yellows to paint. Here is my set up:

After wrestling with it for a bit, I ended up with this little 6x6" piece on canvas:

On Sunday, January 28, we will be having an exhibition at Nunan's from 12 until 3 pm to show what we have been working on the last few weeks. It is always fun to display our work in the greenhouse! More pictures to come......