Garden Painting Day 7 & 8 : Bird Bath and Tree Peony Foliage

I finally got back to my garden painting a few nights ago, and filled in the bird bath. The change is very subtle, since I painted it a light grey (to look like concrete), and it was white before (from the unpainted canvas). So it was not a very satisfying couple of hours, trying to get the right shadows and hue, and having few people notice the change. (Since the work-in-progress sits in our kitchen eating area, it is often a topic of conversation with visitors.)

Last night I pushed myself to paint in a tree peony, even though I was too tired. I finished the foliage, and have placed 5 black dots where the flowers will be painted in (visible if you double-click the photo on right to see a larger version). Looking at it now, the foliage colour is quite realistic, but I think I painted it in a bit dark. Hopefully, the flowers will brighten up this corner of the garden painting. It is also a bit sparse, just like my dear tree peony. I think it could have been more lush, as are most of the tree peonies I've seen.

My tree peony, which was generously given to me by a gardening friend in the Fall, provided me with 5 gorgeous white flowers this Spring. When it was finished blooming, I cut back one of the main woody branches to a few buds. Next year I plan to do the same with the other main branch. I want them to grow in more bushy, and to be able to remove the supporting stakes I have it propped against.

The tree peony flowers I will paint, will be pink ones, inspired by the photo on the left. I'm trying to keep going with filling the painting with plants, so I will likely move on to more plants, fill in most or all the foliage first, before I move to the flowers, which will be most time-consuming, but also most rewarding. Then I will add in some birds, bees, butterflies and whatever else I can manage. That will be the truly fun part.