Busy July, Oh My

Lily Dance

Oil on Canvas Panel

16x20

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I painted Lily Dance three years ago before becoming completely immersed in the Tonalist style.  Every time I go to the Art Institute of Chicago, the first thing I do is go to the Claude Monet paintings.  Viewing his originals is like stepping into a wonderful dream world.  The viewer comes away feeling nurtured and refreshed.

Feeling so inspired, I felt compelled to paint water lilies.  This painting is one of six water lilies that I painted that year.  I thought it was sweet that the buyer's daughter is also named Lily.

July has been filled with so many things to do for us - weddings, graduations, sailing and get-togethers.  I hope your July is a busy, happy one too!

Waterlilies Series

Lily Dance  Oil on Canvas  16x20

After many years of painting, I decided to paint the subject of waterlilies.  I've always been a big fan of Claude Monet and have probably been influenced by him more than I realize.  I began with a couple of waterlily paintings, then found that I enjoyed painting the subject.  So I painted a couple more.  Now I've painted nine.  I suppose that constitutes a series.

I started out painting from a few reference photographs of my own.  The subject is endless fascinating to me and I see hundreds of possible compositions.  So, do I continue?  At this point, I'm not sure.  I've taken a short break from painting, since I'm getting ready for an art opening.  All the framing takes a lot of time.  I'll see if the waterlily muse is still there after the show.