Wedding season is about to begin!

Today was spent preparing for an upcoming wedding that I will be designing for and to take place in May. I've consulted with the bride, she gave me her dreams and wishes. From the time I spent with her I will determine which flowers to order and how many. The flowers will come from the Portland Florist Growers Market. At this market comes the freshest, most beautiful flowers anyone could ever dream of. The roses are especially beautiful as Portland is known for its perfect climate to grow these spectacular flowers. I often ask the brides if I can make last minute decision about exact flowers based on what is available that week. It really is to a brides advantage to let a designer do this because we can't always know ahead of time what might show up at the market.
Below is a wedding I put together last season. These arrangements include four different rose breeds, Lisianthus, Freesia, Star of Bethlehem, Stargazer Lily, and Stalk. It was a very fragrant wedding, as ordered!
The bride carried this hand tied clutch bouquet. She wore an ivory colored dress that had layer upon layer of organdy and these flowers were a stunning addition to the "frosting!!" Six bridesmaids carried smaller versions of the brides bouquet, with just roses, down the isles. Candelabra arrangement...
And, the Altar arrangement.

Ocean / My Watercolor

Painting with watercolors is something I have been learning for two years. It takes a tremendous amount of hands on experience to get the paint where you want it to go so that it gives the correct impression. While still very much a beginner I am having a great time. My painting class consists of ten ladies. We meet on Friday mornings. The ladies range in age from 50 to 80. Our teacher is an accomplished artist who teaches at Lewis & Clark College. Each week we learn something new, then go home and try out that technique. I especially enjoyed painting this ocean scene below because of the colors and the fun little birds. The objective was to learn how to paint water using as few strokes as possible, without overworking the space. We used a wet into wet wash, then allowed the paint to dry before adding the birds and lines.

The picture is not an original, it is my rendition of Joe Garcia's work. It comes from Joe Garcia's book, "Mastering the Watercolor Wash," page 76-77. Paint colors we used are: Burnt Sienna, Cobalt Blue, French Ultramarine, Permanent Ros, Raw Senna and Viridian. The paper is 140lb. cold pressed Arches.

"Homecoming"

"Homecoming" was created by Heidi Petersen . It is an assemblage. I was privileged to buy it, hang it in my house and now savor it each day! This piece speaks to me of pain, sorrow, restoration and relief. Madeleine L'Engle so beautifully states, "In art, either as creators or as participators, we are helped to remember some the glorious things we have forgotten, and some of the terrible things we are asked to endure, we who are children of God by adoption and grace." I understand this.

Heidi is my niece. Please look at her other works of art. She is an accomplished artist of whom I am very proud!! http://www.heidipetersen.com/ Another favorite piece is "Redeem the Time", notice the butterfly! Enjoy!!