Azaleas are bright and beautiful in Houston in March, this lovely home caught my eye as we drove by. Fortunately there is a shade tree across the street so I was able to plein air paint there. When I went close to the azaleas the pink blooms were as large as roses and glowing in the southern sun. The pines were giants, scattered on the property providing shade and majesty to the pretty corner home that welcomes you to a lovely established neighborhood.
I did a little more work on this after the photo was taken, some shadows and lights on the lawn and trees, straightened a few lines and details on the building. This painting was too wet to travel as I really piled paint onto the azalea hedges and my white is a very pokey dryer. Since I will return to work through my "must paint around Houston" list in the fall I left the wet canvas on Robin's mantel, and it looks pretty nice up there! I will have several dry paintings ready to varnish then.
There are no giant towering hardwood shade trees in Houston like we have up north, but the various palms and fruit trees are delightful to see and do create shade. This palm was way above the house across the street, just waving in the breeze and capturing the light. I painted this little panel from a comfy deck chair with 3 year old Amelia painting with watercolors beside me. We had a lovely afternoon together until she decided her bubble lawnmower should go down the slide and painting was interrupted.
March Azaleas, 8x10 oil 2013
Afternoon Shade, 5x7 oil 2013
