Laureen Gardner Art

  "A Blast of Color" I felt like I needed a change. I decided to use pastels for the first time. It was difficult and I wasn't sure how my pastel drawing would look in the end. I found the right photograph to use. The analogous color scheme for the rose was perfect! At first, I used pastels that were too chalky. Later, I used only professional grade soft pastels. I began to get good results. I definitely got my blast of color in that flower! 

"Perfect Rose" As I glanced through my photos that I took recently, I spotted a striking rose to paint. I grabbed the photo and started sketching on the canvas. Mixing the colors and applying the paint was fun! Blending and shading became challenging. In the end I had a perfect rose.  

"Shocking Pink" In late summer I found a planting area full of pink petunias. I bent down to get a good picture and noticed something flying down at me from above. A large moth landed right next to the flower that I was about to photograph. It glared at me and then went into the flower. I was shocked! Apparently, it didn't want to share the flower with me. Ha! I was so surprised that I named this painting "Shocking Pink".

"Spring Hyacinth" On a sunny day in the Spring of 2019 I found a planting area full of white, pink, lavender and blue hyacinths. I photographed many pictures of the fragrant flowering blooms. This specific plant was always the centerpiece on the dinner table where my family gathered to celebrate Easter Sunday. It has always been a favorite of mine and it returns every year with a powerful scent.

"Sun Parasol" At Virginia Beach in Virginia, I photographed the Sun Parasol Mandevilla. I just had to take a picture of this vertically growing vine with shiny green foliage that produced bright pink flowers. Later, I found out this tropical vine attracts butterflies and hummingbirds from miles around. Painting this flower just made my vacation even more special!

"Sassy Rose" I always travel to the park and take photographs of flowers. I search throughout the planting areas to find just what I need. On a special day I spotted an unusual rose hiding among others. Red is my favorite color and this rose was red. I just had to paint it! Once I got started things began to fall into place. I rubbed paint onto the canvas, applied more paint, and added a lot of texture. It looked good!

"Striking Daffodil" I searched through many groupings of daffodils before I was able to get the right photograph to paint. This day was special because I caught the sun shining directly overhead and the daffodils were so transparent. Plus there was a breeze and the flowers were all moving about. This painting has a tendency of appearing somewhat abstract. Even though it was difficult to paint, I still enjoyed painting the striking daffodil. 

"A Cluster of Poinsettias" In November I stopped at a local nursery and noticed a huge table full of both red and pink poinsettias just waiting for me to photograph. I decided to paint the pink poinsettias because they just stood out among the red ones. I sketched most of the flowers onto a larger canvas and added the paint. The hot pink color was so striking that I just couldn't stop painting. I had to deal with a lot of overlapping and fine line etching but it was all worth it in the end. What a surprise!

"Geranium in Bloom" It was getting close to Memorial Day weekend. I was standing on the bridge overlooking Yellow Creek next to the Poland Library. There was always a parade and everyone was getting ready. There were many flower baskets full of red and white geraniums mounted to the sides of the bridge. I took numerous photos of the geraniums within the baskets. On June 27th, 2019 I painted a favorite picture of mine. I painted on canvas what I saw through the lens of my camera. I love red geraniums!

"Stunning Hibiscus" Whow! The very first blossom I painted on canvas was on August 6th, 2018. The blossoms of hibiscus were sweet smelling and unique. What a delightful experience! I felt like I was in another world looking through all of the twisted branches while avoiding swarming bees. I kept taking photos and even returned the next day to take more. It was a real challenge painting different shades of white and even pink. At this time I knew that painting had become a passion of mine. I just had to paint florals!

"Roses Are Red" Throughout the years I always received red roses on Valentine's Day. I could hardly wait to get them! However, I never thought I'd be painting them. As a grouping they are simply beautiful and by themselves they are so special. I have photographed many roses. Of all of them there was one close-up that really got my attention. I painted it and I am so pleased with how it turned out!

"Summer is Daisies" It seems like everyone likes daisies. They are definitely a popular summer flower and in abundance. Actually, they tend to be one of the first flowers that a young child will pick and draw. They are so perfectly put together and very pretty. On a sunny day at Boardman Park I searched for a nice group of daisies to photograph. I took many pictures and I finally found just what I was looking for. I photographed three bright yellow daisies tightly packed together among other groupings. It was fun sketching and painting a close-up of this grouping.