Glass House Astilbe & Happy Accidents

Glass House Astlibe, acrylic on canvas, 10 x 8",
by Tracy Feldman

I painted this little acrylic painting today. It is part of my Longwood Gardens series. It is called Glass House Astilbe.  I have always loved astilbes for their shape, vibrant color, and because the are one of the few really colorful plants that thrive in shade gardens.  They even are perennials -- which appeals to my fantasy that perennial gardens are trouble- free once you plant them.  Of course, as with anything in life, if you want things to continue to be in good shape, maintenance will always be required.

Before I found recovery from compulsive eating, that fact seemed like a cheat, and that used to really bug me.  Now it's just a fact I accept, which frees me to enjoy the good things about a perennial garden -- even if it will always need work.  Thus, maybe I'll even get around to planting some of these beauties in my own back garden some day.  But at least I've finally gotten around to painting them.

The expression "happy accident" is used by artists to indicate that an unexpected thing happened during the painting process that could have been a problem, but when you look at it, you realize, "Hey, I like it even better this way".  The "happy accident" with this piece occurred because I too quickly sprayed a thick coat of clear glaze over the painting, and so some of the edges in parts of the painting got softer (less sharp) than when I originally painted them.  When I initially noticed the softening, I though "Oh NOoooo!"  But then I took a breath and placed the work on a flat surface -- to prevent any dripping/shifting. After a couple of minutes I looked back at the piece and thought, cool, it looks even better.  Yea!"  Hope you enjoy and would welcome any comments.

• This work is also up for auction on the Daily Paintworks site.  Bidding will start at $25.  If it doesn't sell at auction, I'll include it in the small works section of my next show, for considerably more than the starting bid. Click here , or on the Daily Paintworks icon to the right to get to my gallery and bid.

Longwood Series # 2

Spring Impressions -- Longwood 2014, 8 x 10"
Acrylic on Canvas, Tracy Feldman

I love the patchwork feeling of these tulip gardens at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA.  They reminded me of a patchwork quilt.

As with the first piece of this series, the small scale of this work helped me be willing to move away from wanting to paint a totally representational rendering of what I saw.  But I couldn't resist adding more representational versions of the dark linear branches that spread over the near floral patch because they added another needed dark value and their thin linearity beautifully complemented the shapes within the tulip and daffodil beds.  I'd love to hear your impressions.

This work is also up for auction on the Daily Paintworks site.  Bidding will start at $30.  If it doesn't sell at auction, I'll include it in the small works section of my next show, for considerably more than the starting bid. Click here, or on the Daily Paintworks icon to the right to get to my gallery and bid.