I don’t normally work on a painting without some idea of what the finished work will be but that’s exactly how Hydrangeas in a Silver Vase was completed.
We have some early blooming Quickfire Hydrangeas in the yard that I decided would look nice in a painting. I started them without knowing if they would go in a vase, a jar, or something else. Once completed, I needed to decide what to add.
I noticed my neighbors Big Leaf Hydrangeas and got permission to cut a couple of blooms. I prefer the blue to the pink but these were more of a combination that made a fuschia . I quickly added these before they could wilt.
I like to do flowers in one sitting to keep them looking light and delicate. Too many layers and glazing will make them look thick and heavy. Now I had a painting of hydrangeas with no leaves or anything else. They were still going to need a little work including stems but the background would need to be completed first and I had no clue were I was going. I sat the painting on another easel and got to work on other paintings until I figured out what was next. I was thinking that something silver would work and not compete with the flowers but I didn’t have anything.
There’s a local auction where I like to find miscellaneous items to use. My parents were in town so we went to the auction together. This could have been a mistake knowing my parents will buy almost any piece of junk that could possibly contain a hidden signed copy of the Declaration of Independence. We were browsing the tables of old tools and old books went I heard my mom say “Oh my God, what is your father bidding on?!” Emerging victoriously from the crowd was my proud father carrying two boxes of what appeared to be garbage. Beneath the clutter and smells we found a silver pitcher. Perfect!
The next morning I was ready to get started on the hydrangeas again. Although I still had no plans for what the vase would be sitting on or what else would be in the painting, it was starting to come together. A few days later my wife brought home some peaches that she picked from Bennett Orchards including some stems and leaves for me. The colors would complement the flowers perfectly. 
I was now beginning to see the finished painting. In the shadow box, I set up the composition including sea shells. After completing the underpainting of the peaches, I briefly considered making them plums to keep a purple theme but decided against it. As the painting was coming together, I decided to leave out the shells as to not have the table top look cluttered. I like to have some life in the paintings so the butterfly was added to complete the painting.
The large fuschia hydrangea becomes the focal point not only because of the color and location but because the visual lines that pull your eye to it. The tall white flower on the right side along with the butterfly on the left are the tops of a line that form a V that converge at the focal point. Around the focal point are the large leaves that mimic the doily beneath the vase. I try to create a focal point to draw the viewer in and then have other visual interests that keep the viewer exploring. I this case I left out the shells but the butterfly works well.
I’ve thought about the composition with the jars and marbles for a while but the setting was a last minute idea. Recently I had taken some pictures of a rock wall and some larger rocks to use as a prop so this seemed to be as good a time to use it as any. The setting of outdoors, in the woods, on a rock just added to the idea of lost marbles. There was no intended meaning behind the painting but as I posted the various stages of completion on Facebook, I receivedcomments suggesting I was losing my marbles. That got me thinking about the painting. One jar had all of its marbles with a lid tightly secured and the other was nearly empty and was losing its marbles. Could this represent me and my wife? She is an accountant and I’m an artist so guess who marbles are bouncing down the rocks.
