The Beauty Of Orchids

Even though at this time of the year my garden is in full bloom outside, I cannot forget my inside orchid garden. I was so happy to see my spotted phalaenopsis spiking this year. Last year when it tried to bloom it had a bout with spider mites and had to be relegated to the basement while I got rid of the bugs. By the tiime it emerged again upstairs, it was no longer interested in blooming.

Beautiful shades of white are always a favorite of mine.

A brand new orchid for my collection this year, purple and white are a beautiful combination.

The orchid above is one of my favorites, I call it "woody" fo the wooden pot it is planted in. I bought this phalaenopsis bare root off of ebay years ago. It took 3 years to start blooming for me and has been a reliable orchid ever since, creating beautiful blooms every year.

Life always inspires art, 2 years ago I created my "Purple Phalaenopsis" painting to express how much I love my orchid collection. This year I feel another orchid painting coming on and I think this time, I will create the painting with a multiple canvas layout. I'm not sure what kind of orchid I will paint yet but I'll be ready with my paintbrush when the urge strikes.

Purple Phalaenopsis....Completed!

Although it was a challenge and kept me on my toes the whole time, my Purple Phalaenopsis is now completed.

It went from almost finding itself inside the kitchen trash can a couple of times to one of my favorites. That is really the way art goes though......you just never know.

When I last left off, the area underneath the painting had not yet been completed. I decided when I first started this painting that I wanted to have the orchid growing from bark. I thought it would look very textural and organic and really add a special touch to the painting. It took a while to get the bark looking just the way I wanted it too but I was finally able to create bark that has a real "texture" to it.

This moth orchid is painted in acrylic on 1 1/2" deep gallery canvas. The overall dimensions are 14" x 18".

The black background and bark are carried around all the sides. You will even find some bark chips on the bottom of the canvas.......

I'm really happy that I decided to go with the black background as I think it makes the painting "pop".

In the beginning......there was just a blank canvas and an idea which eventually developed into a sketch.

In the end.......the purple moth orchid or "Purple Phalaenopsis"is complete!! Coming soon to my website and my etsy shop... http://www.artfulcreations.etsy.com/ .

I've already got my eye on the next project I want to do.....a 24" x 30" still life orchid scene on gallery canvas. Before I take on that large task though, I'm working on an antique ceiling tin with african violets so stay tuned........

Phalaenopsis Painting Progress .......

This painting has proven to be very challenging but definately worth the extra work. There were quite a few times I thought I would just have to trash the whole thing, as in, really throw it in the trash. Luckily when it became too much, I had the presence of mind to just "STOP" and put it aside....facing the wall, so I couldn't even look at it or think about it. This strategy really helped clear my mind and now the painting and I are in a good place together. The above is where I left off when I last showed pictures of my progress. I wasn't even sure what color my Orchid's blooms would be at this point.

Here you can see that I've decided on purple.......my favorite color.

I'm just basing in come of the colors at this point to decide what I want to do and how I want to do it.

The front bloom is now completed. I used combinations of many colors to give this Phalaenopsis a vibrant , colorful, "pop off the canvas" look.

I like how the colors show so nicely against this black background.

The second bloom is done except for the center.

Here the first 3 blooms have been fully finished. I'm really happy with the shape this painting is taking so far. To be continued............

Orchid Inspirations And A New Painting

If you remember, a few weeks ago I journeyed to Parkside Orchid Nursery in PA, one of my very favorite places to visit and shop. I had purchased 3 new Orchids that day and was waiting until they began blooming to show you my new finds. The above Oncidium Orhid is a new species that I am trying...it has 10 beautiful open blooms and loves a bright sunny window. I have just the right window for it in my sunroom ...I think it will enjoy living in the sunny spot I've chosen.

I also purchased this beautiful Phalaenopsis to fit in with my existing collection of this species.

I'm also trying my first Lady Slipper as well. This particular Orhid likes a shady or low light area....I have some of those windows too, this little guy should be happy where I put him.

One of the reasons I fell in love with this particular Lady Slipper was the gorgeous mottled foliage....it will look so pretty, even when the Orchid is not in bloom.

Rosy Tyke is a Phalaenopsis I've had for years and this little one has always been a wonderful bloomer for me. Blooming for about 2 months now, Rosy Tyke had originally produced 4 buds ...imagine my happiness at finding that this little Orchid was creating 3 more buds. Now this plant has a total of seven flowers currently open or in different stages of opening.

My large white Palaenopsis has been blooming for 2 months now as well...it is one of my largest Orchids and the flowers themselves are quite big when they are fully open.

Around the same time I noticed additional blooms forming on my little Rosy Tyke, I also noticed new buds on my large white Phalaenopsis. This beautiful plant produced 4 buds 2 months ago and then suddenly, I noticed 6 more forming, the first of which is just about to open now.

This is of course where the inspiration comes in.....being around so many Orchids in bloom made me want to start a new canvas painting...this time, I decided on an Orchid as my subject. This once again is gallery canvas measuring 14" x 18" and I'll be using acrylic paint for this piece. Here I've just finished my sketch....it is a bit hard to see at this point but below......

You can see I've decided to paint a Phalaenopsis Orchid. The subject is a lot easier to make out now that I've decided to make my background a striking black....which will be carried around to all four sides of this gallery canvas. No, I didn't paint in an ipod nano (in my favorite color purple no less), I just wanted to show my new studio assistant, that is why the nano is in the photo. Many weeks ago, Chris and I went out and purchased the purple nano I've been lusting over for longer then I can remember. While it may not seem like all that big of a deal, I've discovered something wonderful, something I never thought I would enjoy all that much.....AUDIO BOOKS!!! I've listened to several books already....it has been great to be able to read a book while I paint. Normally I cannot do both at once so to have this luxury is pretty wonderful. Listening to my favorite books while I work also helps me focus on what I'm doing, I don't feel as restless as I used too, I'm finding it helps me accomplish a lot more in each sitting.

Taking the nano away now, you can see I've started filling in the leaves. I decided to do the leaves, spike and roots first because at this point I had no idea what color I wanted the flowers to be. I felt that if I kept working, it would come to me and I would figure out what I wanted to do with them eventually.

I've used several different shades of green, applied in different ways, to achieve the leaves. I liked what I did so I once again went to my note book and wrote down what I used and how I applied the paint to achieve the look I wanted.

This photo shows the progression of the leaves getting done....little by little.

This photos shows the finished leaves, spike and roots. My large white Phalaenopsis has roots that grow up, down and all around the plant so I used that beautiful plant as a model for my root system in this painting. What color will the flowers be now??? I know what I've decided on but you will have to wait until next time to see what color I've chosen.

Winter Blooms....

The Phalaenopsis Orchids that I was talking about in my last "Indoor Garden" post are now starting to bloom. It is always so exciting when you see the buds open up into such beautiful flowers. My large white Orchid has 4 buds, 3 have opened and the 4th should be springing to life any day now. This beauty bloomed 2 years ago for me and I was so excited to see a spike a couple of months back, signaling the beautiful flowers to come.

My little "Rosy Tyke " Phalaenopsis is such a wonderful performer for me. When it started to spike around the same time my large white orchid did, I was thrilled. This little guy had just bloomed last spring so it was so wonderful to know I would get blooms again so soon. Rosy Tyke also has 4 buds.....3 have opened and the 4th should be blooming any day now.

These 2 beauties sit together on a humidity tray in one of my sunroom windows. I see them every day as I walk past the room and in and out of the room to paint and use our computer. I have 2 wonderful orchid field trips planned this winter and I'll be posting lots of photos on my blog. First, as many of you know, Chris and I go to the Orchid Show every year at the New York Botanical Garden. I take a ton of pictures each year...to see photos from the previous years outings, just go to my "Out And About" section on the right and you will find some photos from each of my visits to the past orchid shows there. I also have a trip coming up to a wonderful orchid nursery in PA sometime this winter. These 2 beautiful orchids above were purchased there and I cannot wait to go and spend some of my Christmas $$$$. It is not only a great shopping experience but the nursery is a real treat for the eyes and senses with row after row of fabulous greenhouses full of every species of orchid you can imagine. When I visit I plan to bring my camera and ask the owners if I may take pictures while I'm there. If I can, I will share all the photos with you.

The Indoor Garden...

This time of year, because I live in a cold state, I focus on my indoor blooms, most specifically my orchid collection. They bring me a tremendous amount of joy during the year, I love caring for them and watching them grow. The ultimate reward of course, is when you can get a spike and at that point you know that blooms are just a few weeks away.

This beautiful blooming Phalaenopsis orchid has just been added to my collection a few weeks ago and has 7 gorgeous purple blooms. When it goes out of bloom I will cut the spike appropriately and see if I can get it to rebloom. If it is a bit tired at that time and decides not to rebloom, I will repot it into one of my favorite orchid pots at that time.

These big and beautiful blooms add so much cheer to my sunroom studio, I appreciate and admire them every single day. Don't be surprised if you see orchid blooms in an upcoming faux window painting.

To my absolute delight, one of my favorite orchids that I've had for a few years now, just started to spike a few weeks ago. Rosey Tyke above has the most beautiful miniature blooms and in the photo above, if you look to the right of the plant, you can see the spike coming out of the lower half of the orchid. I was also happily suprised because Rosey Tyke just bloomed for me in the spring so it made me very happy to see it spiking again now.

The little one above is also almost ready to bloom, it has two tiny red buds that I'm waiting for to open. It is a new addition to my orchid collection and is called Sogo Grape.

I was also very happy to see the orchid on the left spiking a few weeks ago as well. It is the largest orchid in my collection and hasn't bloomed for 2 years now so when I saw it spiking, I was delighted. It has very large and gorgeous white blooms with yellow centers. In a few more weeks the flowers should be ready to bloom. You can see from the photo that the spike has gotten so long that I have put the support on to give it strengh and protection. Generally when a spike is about 12" long, that is when the support should be attached. I'll be sure to take lots of photos of the blooms on all the orchids when they open.