Report on the last meeting:

Jeanne Larson – “No Apologies Florals”

By Barb Parisien

(click on the photos to see a larger image)

Jeanne Larson, popular local demo artist, drew a record crowd at our April 16 meeting.

Standing room only! Jeanne began her demonstration saying that although florals are sometimes considered decorative, flower portraits have been historically significant and even promoted by male artists such as Andy Warhol.

Jeanne showed her approach to painting colorful parrot tulips. After checking photos of her flower subject and studying the anatomy, she puts the photo aside and draws her composition on 140 pound Arches paper. Then, wetting both sides, she floats in strong color, favoring pyrol orange and other transparent pigments that move and blend. She lays the color in very heavy and then pulls it out while varying the brush pressure, always leaving some white. After letting the first application of strong color dry, Jeanne is ready to paint some hard edges keeping in mind the principles of repetition and variety.

She doesn’t tape her paper down as she likes to pick it up and let the colors run. Working on a basic cruciform design, she defines her center of interest with darks. Yellows are placed in the centers of each flower and hints of green at the edges suggest leaves.

Finally, she brings in a few cast shadows with blues and violets. After scrambling for extra chairs to accommodate the large crowd, NorthStar members were treated to a passionate and colorful introduction to spring flowers.