Painting another Rhody at the Salal Spring Arts Festival

Ann's Rhody (Rhody #11) - 16 x 20 - oil on canvas

The 2009 Salal Spring Arts Festival at Lower Columbia College kicked off the official launch of this year's edition of The Salal Review, the college's literary and arts magazine. I was honored this year when the team of students and faculty advisors that produce the magazine selected my painting of a Rhododendron for the cover artwork!

It was fitting that I demonstrate painting a Rhody at the festival, even though I didn't finish the painting that day (nor have I finished it since). Here's what it looked like on Saturday, May 30 during the festival. I've worked on it every night since, but it's still not done.

Back in 2003-04 I completed ten paintings of Rhododendrons. I was inspired to do another by Ann Chaiken's photo of a rhody on flickr.com. Ann agree to share her photo with me and it became the inspiration for this painting.

To top it off, Allan bought me a humongous set of stretcher bars on sale at Utrecht: 4 feet tall by 8 feet long!! My plan is to paint an oversize Rhody floral to grace my livingroom. I want to call it Rhododendron Explosion. We'll see if I can realize this goal, because it will be the biggest painting I've ever done. The next largest is Riverwatch, at 2-1/2 feet tall by 8 feet long. I completed this painting in 2004 after we moved into our new home, but it was done on three separate panels.

So I better stop yackin' and get to work!

~I will keep the brush happy in my hand!~