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In Full Bloom, Best in Show, 2015 Portland Rose Festival Art Show, watercolor & Golden fluid acrylic on Arches 140 lb. hot press paper, 28 X 28 inches (framed), copyright ©2015 Anna Porter Artist (Website: https://www.annaporterartist.com, Instagram: @annaporterartist, Facebook: AnnaPorterArt, Pinterest: @annaporterart, Twitter: @annaporterart, Tumblr: annaporterartist, Fine Art America: annaporter).

So very thrilled that my painting, In Full Bloom, watercolor & Golden fluid acrylic on Arches 140 lb. hot press paper, 28 X 28 inches (framed) was accepted into the juried 2015 Portland Rose Festival Art Show, June 7th - July 10th, and won the Best in Show Award. I was extremely honored to accept this award on Sunday, June 7, 2015 at the Opening Reception for this venerable art show, that is held each year at Oregon Society of Artists (http://www.oregonsocietyofartists.com, Facebook: oregonsocietyofartists). Located at 2185 SW Park Place, Portland, Oregon 97205 (on the N.E. corner of St. Clair & Park Place), (503) 228-0706, the OSA Gallery is open to the public Monday to Saturday 1:00PM to 4:00PM (closed Sundays and holidays). This year the juror for the show was renowned sculptor and painter Geoffrey McCormack (http://www.mcsurf.com). The 2015 Portland Rose Festival Art Show is an officially sanctioned Rose Festival Event (Website: http://www.rosefestival.org , Instagram: @pdxrosefestival, Facebook: PortlandRoseFestival, Twitter: @PDXRoseFestival). 

This is a beautiful show, filled with award-winning paintings of Roses, Portland Scenes and Rose Festival Scenes, all part of the "Bloomin Good Time" theme. It is sure to delight everyone who enjoys fine art, flowers (especially roses), Portland and the many fun activities surrounding the annual Portland Rose Festival. The OSA Gallery is located just a couple of blocks below the entrance to Washington Park (Map It!), within walking distance to one of my favorite gardens in the city, the Portland International Rose Test Garden. I will be sitting the OSA Gallery in the afternoon on Wednesday, July 1, 2015 and I would love to see you there!

I love roses. They are my favorite flower. I love painting roses, photographing roses, and planting roses. I could not be happier to have my first Best in Show award be for my painting of this beautiful rose. To create this painting, I referenced an original photograph that I took of a beautiful pink rose, titled "Pink Rose Inside". As with most of my floral paintings, I am drawn to the abstract shapes and colors that I see in nature and in my photography. I drew the major lines in the flower lightly in pencil on Arches 140 lb. hot press paper, created an underpainting in washes of watercolor to capture the abstract shapes that caught my attention, and applied glazes of Golden fluid acrylic to intensify and bring out beautiful colors that appeal to me. I finished it with line details in both watercolor and Golden fluid acrylic. The painting is float mounted on an off-white matte and beautifully framed in a cherry-colored wood frame. Sincere thanks to Macadam Frame Central Portland (Website: http://framecentral.com, Facebook: Macadam Frame Central Portland) in John's Landing for the stunning job that they did custom framing this painting for me with a one day turnaround.

A limited edition print (giclee) of the original painting will be created at the end of the show, after July 10, 2015, and is available for purchase on my website HERE. 

Huge thanks to Oregon Society of Artists, the 2015 Portland Rose Festival Art Show, and juror Geoffrey McCormack, for this wonderful honor. 

Anna Porter, Fine Artist and Digital Photographer, will be sitting the Gallery at Oregon Society of Artists this Sunday, September, 22, 2013 from 1:00PM to 4:00PM! Meet the artist to view and discuss her painting, textural plantings, watercolor and watercolor crayon, and get a personal tour of all the beautiful artwork on display in the 2013 Fall Juried Show! Mark your calendar! 

Note from the Artist:

I am so thrilled and excited that my watercolor and watercolor crayon painting, textural plantings, was accepted into the 2013 Fall Juried Show at Oregon Society of Artists, 2185 S.W. Park Place, Portland, OR 97205. Gallery hours are Tues. to Sun. 1:00PM to 4:00PM (closed Mondays and holidays). Show runs from 09-08-2013 to 10-03-2013. Hope to see you this Sunday afternoon 09-22-2013! I am looking forward to meeting you at the Gallery at Oregon Society of Artists, where I will be available to discuss my painting in more detail and answer any questions that you may have. I am also delighted to be able to give you a personal tour of all the beautiful artwork on display in this year's 2013 Fall Juried Show at OSA! Don't miss it! 

This original painting is available for purchase $500.00 USD. Contact [email protected] for more information.

A poster for the painting is available for purchase in my Instacanv.as Gallery here:

http://instacanv.as/annaporterartist/piece/538769493010568782_33853476

Anna Porter

Anna Porter Artist

Fine Art and Digital Photography

email: [email protected]

website: http://annaporterartist.com

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art blog: http://annaporterartist.com/blog

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Previously shown at the Oregon Society of Artists Gallery for the month of December, 2012 as part of the group show Works on Paper, I am pleased to announce and honored that my painting, double peony has been accepted into the Palouse Watercolor Socius 2013 juried four-state watercolor competition held at the University of Idaho Prichard Art Gallery (gallery shown top right in the photo below), where it is available for purchase. One of 36 watercolor paintings submitted by artists from Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana, double peony can be viewed at the Prichard Art Gallery from June 13, 2013 through August 3, 2013.

Gallery Hours:

Regular Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10am-8pm; Sunday 10am-6pm
Summer Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 1pm-6pm; Friday 1pm-7pm; Saturdays 9am-3pm

This painting is also featured on the poster for the show shown below:

A little more about the inspiration for this painting:

Every year I wait for this beautiful red double peony to bloom in my garden. It arrives by late April or early May and never ceases to amaze me with its vibrant color, the size of its blossoms, fully 6 inches in diameter, and the beautiful frilly petals that, when fully opened, allow me to peek inside. I began the painting of  double peony in 2011 "en plein aire" in my garden and finished it in my studio from several photographic studies that I did of it when it first bloomed in 2003. It remains as vibrant in my garden in 2013 as it did then. I painted the background first - lightly sketching the abstract shapes to represent the leaves, then I applied water to the blue areas and dropped in different mixtures of deep blue, letting the colors mingle to create depth and variety. I painted some of the leaves wet in wet and others I painted individually with light washes of pastel color, leaving white space as needed. Finally I painted the abstract shapes inside each petal of the double peony by layering different hues of pink, red and magenta to accentuate the vibrancy of the peony. To create focus at the center, I built up dots of pure watercolor applied with very little water, leaving bits of white.

This painting stands out in a crowd and draws your attention. Its vibrant color, contemporary style and elegant black frame and white matte give modern feel to a natural painting. It is one of my favorite paintings that I have done thus far in my career. For more information, please contact The Prichard Art Gallery directly through August 3, 2013:

Roger H.D. Rowley
Director, Prichard Art Gallery

phone: (208) 885-3586
email:[email protected]

After the exhibit, you can view my original painting double peony watercolor framed on my website.