A new painting, "Pink Poppy Pair"

Barb Toland My Stuff

All during this past month I kept seeing the colors pink, coral & salmon everywhere I turned. So between us talking about Georgia O'Keeffe (who loved painting poppies), and having these colors resonate with me - I thought, what the heck? Let's paint some pink poppies!

This time instead of only one poppy, I decided to do a pair. And as I've said, after seeing pinks, corals & salmon around me, I had the sneaking suspicion that these were the colors my creative muse wanted me to use. And honestly, if I don't follow her suggestions, she tends to ignore me for a while:)

I even spotted some delicious rose' in our local wine store...

   

And during a painting class, I fell in love with some pink poppies a student was painting. So I started playing with color while everyone was working on their poppies, and voilà - I had pink, coral & salmon color splattered everywhere...

  

And yes, I did have salmon for lunch one day (sorry no pics) and I was like, ok - now I REALLY gotta do this!

There is nothing like seeing a painting up close & personal. So here are a few close ups of "Pink Poppy Pair":

  

  

  

And here's the final painting...

Pink Poppy Pair ©
16" x 20" mixed watermedia & oil pastel
on 140 lb. Arches watercolor paper

My point to all this? Stay awake!
Keep your eyes peeled to what's around you. I did, and the color idea for this painting was born.
I guarantee you that Georgia O'Keeffe was alive & awake to each & every moment of her life. (Well, at least most of them.) She never would have been able to "see" things as non-objectively as she did, if she hadn't been keenly aware of her surroundings.
If you can't figure out just what do to next creatively, OR if you're looking for some inspiration - it's all around you! All YOU need to do (as the Buddhist practice teaches us, regardless of our faith) ...
is WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOOK!!!!!!!!!!! PAY ATTENTION!!!!
The creative answers you're looking for will show up in the most unusual ways, but you've GOT to be keenly aware of what's unfolding around you.
Thanks so much for showing up at the creative party. Hope you get a chance to make something this weekend, or at least go somewhere to get inspired!

#itmatters

With love & affection 💕

P.S. I would love to hear from you! You can do so by going to my contact page and sending me a message — your creative heart & voice matter.



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