Painting Peonies

This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
to break my heart

as the sun rises,
as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers

and they open —
pools of lace,
white and pink —
and all day the black ants climb over them,

boring their deep and mysterious holes
into the curls,
craving the sweet sap,
taking it away

to their dark, underground cities —
and all day
under the shifty wind,
as in a dance to the great wedding,

the flowers bend their bright bodies,
and tip their fragrance to the air,
and rise,
their red stems holding

all that dampness and recklessness
gladly and lightly,
and there it is again —
beauty the brave, the exemplary,

blazing open.
Do you love this world?
Do you cherish your humble and silky life?
Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,
and softly,
and exclaiming of their dearness,
fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
their eagerness
to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
nothing, forever?

from New And Selected Poems by Mary Oliver

I know it is a strange time of year to be writing about peonies but I started a painting last week of a peony - my favorite flower. According to ancient folklore the moon goddess created this flower to reflect the moon’s beams during the night. Many artists before me have put brush to canvas in an attempt to capture the flower's allure.

For Christmas Harry gave me a subscription to The Artist's Magazine and on the cover is an oil painting of an arrangement of peonies. I thought, "hmm, I wonder if I could paint like that."

The medium I'm currently using is acrylics. So, last weekend I pulled out an old gessoed board and got to work. I did a rough sketch and then did the under painting and in class on Monday I started blocking in some true color.

I need to go back in and do some more drawing of pedals in the center.

I got some new brushes for Christmas. I'm stuck between not wanting to use them as they are so pretty and hovering over the paint with them!!

I also received a box of soft pastels. Watch out Wolf Kahn.

I'd love to stay home and paint today but I'm off to Charlottesville to meet some friends for lunch. I wish I could visit Monticello today as I just finished a great book Saving Monticello by Marc Leepson about the Levy family's involvement in the home. I highly recommend it. I think I'll go to Charlottesville again in the spring - it is way too cold today to venture up that mountain.

Have a great weekend wherever you are.