Flower Painting #2

Hydrangea's are another lifelong favorite flower. The deep blue-to-pink are everywhere in Charlotte right now. But the delicate, pale blue color that intrigued me was harder to find. I had almost reached the point of knocking on doors with a scissor in hand... but then Trader Joe's made my day.

Since flowers are still not in my comfort zone, putting them in a silver teapot helped.
reflections = security
(although on FB one person thought it was a copper kettle not a silver teapot :-(   the coppery color is actually a reflection of the warm wood it sits on)

Hydrangea Tea ©2013 Dorothy Lorenze

In Julian Merrow Smith's workshop we were encouraged to look through art books for similar subjects or treatments when presented with a challenging element and I didn't have to go far to find an excellent example of a lovely blue hydrangea. Claudia Hammer, a Daily Paintworks painter has a beautiful hydrangeas that you can see here.

So now that I've learned to enjoy painting hydrangeas, maybe I can learn to grow them! They don't seem to want to flower in my garden in New York. Weird 'cause I grew up with them on Long Island. Oh well....gardening advice is welcome.

PS - the teapot is from the United States Navy (it has USN on the bottom). Who knew our armed services were ever so elegant!