Dahlias

 My plein air group usually goes to the Bayard Cutting Arboretum to paint a few times each year. We headed back on the property to the dahlia garden for some beautiful flowers.

Purple Dahlias

 Last week my plein air group, PALS, met at the dahlia garden at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum. There were dahlias of assorted colors like these purple ones.

Inktober 2022 - Day 17 - Bayard Cutting Arboretum

Today is my plein air group's morning to paint. We headed over to the Bayard Cutting Arboretum's dahlia garden to paint. I am once again joining my friend Mary Jo Ernst who is collecting 4 x 6 pieces of art to send to the troops for the holidays. I've done this before but I didn't find out early enough to do too many cards. So far I have about 10 of them done and have to send them to her by the middle of next week. So instead of doing a 8 x 10 painting I did several 4 x 6 pieces. This is a view of one of the arbors and the dahlias.

Then I moved over to the area where the birdhouses are and did a 4 x 6 of that area.

At 12:30 a group of us headed over to the Hidden Oak Cafe at the manor house for lunch 

(which is always very good). I needed to get my Inktober sketch done so I headed back to the dahlia garden and used my fude pen to sketch the birdhouse area.

 

Dahlia Garden

 Usually when I go to the dahlia garden at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum I focus on one flower. It was hot and sunny so I sat under the shade of a big tree and focused on the garden itself including the pergola, bench, and the birdbath. I wasn't too thrilled with how this came out originally because there wasn't enough light on the leaves over the pergola and they blended into the background too much. I ended up using gouache to lighten the greens there. I'm a little happier with it now, but still feel it is a little too dark there. For some of the texture on the flowers I used some oil pastel.

Dahlia

I was at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Oakdale with my plein air group on Tuesday in the dahlia garden. There are so many beautiful blossoms it is hard to pick one to paint...but I did. This is the way I painted it...

but I may crop it to a square format and maybe darken some o the vegetation. Which do you prefer, the rectangular format or the square?

Here are a few photos I took in the garden.

Dahlia Garden

The other day my plein air group was invited to paint in a private dahlia garden. There were so many dahlias to choose from, but this one really attracted me.

It was a damp day and my paint wasn't drying very quickly. While I was waiting I started this painting of red dahlias. I painted it directly in watercolors. I still haven't decided if I am going to add a background (muted colors maybe?) or leave it white. What do you think?

Dahlia Daze

I am a bit behind in posting. On Tuesday my plein air group went back to the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River. I did another close view of one of the dahlias. The colors of the flowers are just so amazing. This is 5 x 7.

Here is the painting against the flower.

We had a small turnout. Here is Rosamaria setting up.

And Linda at work.

At the Dahlia Garden

Today my plein air group (PALS) met at the dahlia garden at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River. The dahlias were gorgeous...and they haven't even reached their peak yet. They should be around until October.

I don't usually do individual flowers, but I figured I would give it a go. It was hard to decide which one to pick as a subject since each one is so different. This is 5 x 7.

Here is the painting against the actual view, and a photo of me working on the painting.

Next I did an ATC sized (2.5 x 3.5) little painting of some dahlias.

Here are a few of the other artists at work.

Jeanne

Laurie

Rosamaria

(who I used as a model for my next painting)

This is 5 x 7.

Here I am working on the painting of Rosamaria.

Since the flowers will be in bloom for a while, I'm sure we will go back again.

Here are just a few photos of some of the gorgeous flowers.

See why I had such a hard time deciding which one to paint?