Sunday 28 June 2015

New Thistles






Finally finished.. ( I think ;) ) this canvas has been on my easel for a couple of weeks.
Regular visitors will know how much I love thistles. I paint and collage them often.

 I have been photographing and drawing the young plants. They are late flowering this year  because of the cold spring but I loved the shape of the stocky plant spiky plants as they stood soldier like in rows. The fact they weren't flowering made their shape even stronger.


I painted the canvas roughly with acrylics before I added the paper layers. I don't always do this but in this case I wanted to get rid of the expanse of white and I also wanted to leave some of the painted areas.



I initially had some rocks in the foreground but I didn't like them so they were covered in paper.


Added paper layers and black gesso.


The thistles were given a blue and silver makeover.


New Thistles
Linking to paint party friday

21 comments:

  1. Fabulous! I love to see the processes artists take with their work, so thank you for sharing yours Morag. I particularly like the mosaic effect you have achieved with this piece, very jewel like, a real feast for the eye!

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  2. Fantastic!Your work is beautiful and so unique.Loved reading about the process.

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  3. Beautiful sparkles! I love the stained glass effect and the textures are perfect describing the thistles! I shall never look at thistles in the same way again. 😊👏👏👏

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  4. Stunning! The wonderful layers of paper add such depth.

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  5. Ah another beauty! This takes me to a beautiful Scottish Summer's day on the wild cliffs, it makes me dream!

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  6. I love to see your pieces evolve. It always amazes me.

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  7. I can't believe how much this looks like a glass mosaic, it just glows! Really really beautiful, and I love the contrast of the sky.

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  8. Stunning - what gorgeous colours - your work has such depth and I really like seeing the stages of development, it's fascinating.

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  9. this is wonderful and that rugged clifftop coastline is so very familiar! it was good to see the steps it went through and the final piece just glows!

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  10. So interesting to read the process and see what choices you've made to finish up your work. Loved it, and your final piece is stunning.

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  11. Gorgeous painting. Love the shapes and rich colours♥

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  12. nice development

    have a good PPF

    much love...

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  13. Wow! I love all the interesting mosaic like textures that you used in your painting. Happy PPF! #48

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  14. Morag, this is simply beautiful! I wouldn't want to meet those thistles in real life, though.

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  15. Flowering thistles are gorgeous...however naked ones not so much....unless you put them to canvas...then they are stunning in all their blue beauty...and love the stain glass looking cliff...you are so talented! I can tell how you interpret the thistle how much you revere it!! Well done! You make me love it too...in all it's prickly splendor!!

    Hugs Giggles

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  16. Wow love this! Has a meditative abstract quality. Shades of Paul Klee and paintwork of Shiele. Great stuff. Happy PPF x

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  17. such a beautiful colourful piece! Arnoldo is right, it almost looks like a mosaic...

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  18. such intricate and GORGEOUS art !! Thank you for generously sharing your process too.

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  19. oh gosh, the background is lovely in its abstract, and your thistles look amazing in the foreground!

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  20. Lovely painting. . .turned out excellent. Thanks for showing the steps you took to arrive at the finished painting. Blessings, Janet PPF

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