“Yellow Iris Bloom” 18″x 14″ Oil on canvas – SOLD
Catching the beautiful yellow Iris in my back yard was something I didn’t want to miss. A friend of mine gave me a bunch of bulbs from her garden last year as she was moving. I was so excited to plant them and found some nice spots to do that. This spring they came bursting through the ground with a strength and beauty I couldn’t ignore.
The gathering captured in this plein-air oil painting were outside the shed in my back yard. It’s a rather rustic looking area – very organic and natural. The artsy Iris seemed like they would be a nice addition to the space. And they are! In painting this small gathering I initially roughed in the grid work of the lattice on the sheds exterior. Later on I decided to brush that out in favor of more singular masses of color and something less defined for the viewer. It felt like a risk but the lattice pattern wasn’t working within the whole of the painting. Making that change, simplified things and brought the focus back toward the flowers.
I’ve had people comment that the painting reminds them of stained glass. I hear that from time to time on some of my works. It’s not intentional but seems to be part of what emerges on various occasions. What I like about this painting is the design quality. The Iris have a very unique character in their shape. This is one of the things that attracted me to painting them and what I most hoped to examine in my process.
What’s left at this point are the stately green stems. Beautiful pieces of natures architecture in their own right, but I can’t deny missing the gorgeous yellow color on the artful petals. Until next year — when I hope to paint them again!
Categories: Flowers, Nature, New Paintings, Still Life
RENDERED IMPRESSIONS / Original Oil Paintings by Catherine J. Martzloff 
How beautiful! I have deep purple, light purple and pink Iris’s. I love them!