Of Serendipity and Yellow Lady Slippers

Yellow Lady Slipper, 10 x 8", acrylic on canvas
by Tracy Feldman

I got inspired to create this little painting on our annual family trip to the mid-west.  Carol, a self-taught naturalist, and niece of my brother-in-law, Lenny, took us on a nature hike in the Waterloo Recreation area.  The primary purpose was so Lenny would be able to photograph a blue-winged warbler.  The bird never showed itself, but the trip wasn't wasted.  We had a great walk and just happened to be during the time when Yellow Lady Slippers were in bloom in a swampy area by one of the lakes.  What serendipity!

     I had never seen a yellow lady slipper before, but I've loved this relative of orchids since I first saw a pink lady slipper when I was around 4 years old.  We were visiting the cabin of family friends at the eastern end of Long Island. Today it might be hard to imagine, but in the 1950's much more of that area was pretty wild.   After the long drive we took to get to the cabin,  I was disappointed by how small and simple the cabin was. But then I spotted the pink lady slipper  at the edge of the property. Its delicate beauty captured me immediately and my fascination was only increased when our friend  Ken,  told me how lucky I was to see it since they were so rare and special.  That moment ignited a life-long love of flowers and nature. 

Pink Lady Slipper

      I took a number of images of the yellow lady slippers on the walk, and I may paint other of the images later.  I painted this image first because I love the mysterious nature of the out of focus foliage in the back, and how the dark values make the yellow of the slipper seem to glow.

     On the right is an image of pink lady slipper that I found on a forest service website , so if you want to learn more about these lovely, threatened wildflowers, check out the site.  Notice how the hood and leaves are proportionately so much longer than the "slipper" in the yellow lady slipper.  But, both are still beautiful.

   As usual, I'm posting this little painting for sale on my Daily Paintworks gallery and auction site.  Check it out there if you might be interested in this piece.

It's Your Close-up, Peony

It's Your Close-up, Peony, acrylic on canvas,  8 x 10", by Tracy Feldman

     This little painting is a close up of one of my favorite late-spring flowers: a peony.  It's not one of the ones from our yard. We are traveling on our annual "great midwestern trek" to visit our families, and once again our peonies are blooming without us.  My husband photographed this beauty at Ann Arbor, Michigan's Arboretum.   He used one of the new toys for his camera: an extension tube.  It allows you to focus much more closely on objects than you can with a standard lens.

       I love how viewing objects from very close can give them a more abstract quality.   I also love the intense hues of this lovely peony.  I hope you enjoy seeing it as much as I enjoyed painting it.

    As with all the small paintings on this blog, if you are interested in buying It's Your Close-up, Peony, you can bid on him on my Daily Paintwork's gallery and auction site, or buy him directly on the site.  I hope you enjoy and would welcome any comments.

Peony Garden, Ann Arbor Arboretum, Ann Arbor, Michigan (2014)

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.