"Sisa" Dahlias

It is always exciting when flowers I dreamed about and ordered in the spring begin blooming. This year I ordered 23 different dahlia tubers, and the variety "Sisa" is the first to really take off and bloom for me.

Ringtone and Flower Record Daffodils

In my quest to always paint the flowers that I grow in my garden, about three years ago, I began reading more about gardening. The magazine that has had the most influence on me in the last few years is the British periodical, "Gardens Illustrated" and as a result of religiously reading this magazine from cover to cover, I have begun to realize how helpful it is to use the correct names for the different plants and flowers I grow.

Peonies Festiva Maxima and Flower Bud

This is a painting I began on my own in the studio, and then demonstrated to my Saturday morning students how I finish a piece.  Sometimes this final phase where I am tying up loose ends and trying to unify a piece can take extra time to resolve.  So after the 3-hour class was over, I continued on a bit more adding the finishing touches.