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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.