Crocus

Blog 14

This is the time of the year when we are all yearning for warmer temperatures and the awakening of nature. I can hardly wait for the first spring blooms to appear in our garden. Since I moved to Canada, I watch the daily progress my spring flowers are making once the snow is gone from the flower bed on the south side of our house. I do not remember doing this while I still lived in Germany but the German winter is much shorter and milder, and the spring flowers are usually already blooming in late February. The Frankfurt area that I am from is comparable in climate to Vancouver.

“Crocus” is a 8” x 8” acrylic painting I just had to paint after I saw the crocus, some of the first blooming flowers of spring, defending their spot despite the masses of snow that were still on the ground. I liked the way the strong purple colour of the flowers made them really stand out against the white snow. I was also not happy with the way my photo had turned out. The colour of the blooms in the photograph was just too blue and not the nice shade of purple.

Even though I did the painting in the studio and not on location, I was able to check the colour on my canvas against the real flowers which were blooming just outside our house.

To give some more interest to the painting, I added some molding paste to get a slight 3D effect for the white snow.

When my mother saw this painting just after I finished it, she fell immediately in love with it. Therefore, it hangs now in my childhood home where the crocus usually never see the snow. However, when I was in Germany during March Break two years ago, Germany had a big snow storm. They had more snow in the middle of March than they had during the whole winter. The temperatures dropped from nice high teens to just below zero. This just shows you that spring is always good for a couple of weather surprises.

When this blog is published I have already left for the Plein Air Ensemble spring painting trip. This time the trip goes to Val David in Quebec. I have never been there before but heard that the area is beautiful. While we do not expect to see any spring flowers, we hope for milder temperatures and sun. We actually want some snow patches on the ground to make the compositions more interesting. I also hope for some really nice spots with green water. The colour you only see in early spring.

However, the most important part is to be able to devote my time to some uninterrupted painting and spending time with friends. Four days without any other chores sounds good to me no matter the weather. If we will have snow, rain, or gusty winds, we still have the opportunity to paint in a room at the hotel that has been booked for this purpose.

I welcome you to come back to my blog next week to read the trip report. Until then, watch your flowers grow.