Introducing the 2019 Calendar "Bottles & Blooms: A Year of Cheer!"
Coming up with a theme for my 2019 calendar was fairly easy as I really wanted to paint a few more hanging flower bottles after the success of the large “Garden Party” painting I had done earlier in the year. That piece (shown in frame) was one of two of my paintings that were selected by the juror of the “National Oil Painting Exhibition” and on display at MarkArts Gallery in Wichita in August and September.
Although I had intended to do only three or four other hanging bottle paintings in random sizes, it only made sense to accomplish two goals in one effort. I chose a 12”x12” format and painted each piece in oil on a 1.5” deep gallery wrapped canvas. I got off to a good start in early September and painted the pieces for January through June before my efforts got derailed by travel and another more immediate and time consuming project.
Concerned about missing my window of opportunity to finish, create and promote a calendar, I finally managed to get back into my studio in late October to finish the last six paintings. In just four days, I was able to complete all six. This momentum was made possible because of some quick sketches and earlier planning in which I had determined a set color palette and created a mood board for each piece.
