Beautiful quiet expansive fields are not unusual to find in Texas, but in the Spring these barren fields come alive with large patches of wildflowers. Truly a sight to see ~
Bluebonnets in Texas Springtime, is on oil pastel (8×10) done on a gesso prepared hardboard. This scene is one of the fields that we saw during our recent trip to Ennis. It seemed rather ordinary, but taking a second look there were some elements that made this scene real interesting. This little beauty showed itself to be a great subject for a painting.
Using acrylic a three-toned purple underpainting was layed down (very light for the sky, slightly darker for the mid-ground and then darker still for the foreground) – I wanted to cool down the yellow and greens. The sky was completely clouded, so blue was added to harmonize with the bluebonnets.
Did you know that Texas wildflowers love any kind of dirt to grow? You’d be surprised to see how easily they come up year-after-year in hard Texas black clay and rocky fields – talk about determination! Thanks for checking in ~ click onto the image for a larger view.
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Very delicate and romantic
It was an amazing trip and we enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks and glad you enjoyed the painting!
Breathtaking! Congrats, Mary! … so calming, so inspirational!
Thank you so much Ana for your lovely and generous comment on this painting. It was a wonderful scene to paint – a great reminder of how beautiful this area of the country is during Spring.
aww lovely work!!
Thank you Leyla!
One day I’m going to see those Texas bluebonnets in the spring…this is lovely!
Hi Elisa, so happy to hear from you! Thanks very much! Listen you are an amazing photographer, you need to take a trip to Texas during the Spring to capture the gorgeous flowers – you’d love the experience.
Very nice impressionistic feeling to this piece Mary! The blue bonnets must be a sight to see! Nice work!~Rita
Thanks very much Rita for your kind feedback – it was a quiet, but magical scene to develop in oil pastels. Springtime is very special here in Texas, wonderful flowers everywhere!
Beautiful Mary, I think the feedback you’re receiving tells all… Great hand – will visit more, been by far the busiest year for me so please pardon my fragmented appearances… You never disappoint though, always look forward to looking at and taking in your creations 🙂
Wonderful to see you Heath, thank you very much for your generous comments – very happy that you’ve had some time to visit. I can totally understand about being busy, I’ve been away for a while as well and hoping that I’ll start having some extra time to see what everyone’s been up too. I’m sure that your writing is developing and is an excellent read as always. Take care and thank you for taking a few minutes to stop by my friend.
Lovely scene of the Texas wildflowers, Mary!
Hi Christy – thanks so much, great to see you!!
That is so gorgeous. So appropriate for this time of year with the gardens starting to bloom. Being an avid gardener I have a true appreciation for this!
Hi Elizabeth, thanks very much! I can only imagine the gorgeous photographs you’ll be taking of your garden. I love this time of year ~ colors everywhere.
Your art always moves me dear Mary! This is so beautiful. I hope you are well, Blessitude ♡
Thank you Lorrie for your lovely comment and compliment – very nice to see you. I’m great and I hope the same for you ~
Dear Mary,
Loooooove this painting! Colors are soft and made it so beautiful and calm❤️ can feel the fresh air and greens smell…
xxxx
Hi Violet – thank you so much. Love your description and what captured your attention in the painting. I seem to be drawn to quiet, soft scenes – I was lucky to see it during our drive.
Very nice work Mary! I like the softness of the flowers. Makes me yearn for the spring that is still not here in New York! ~Rita
Thanks Rita – it was a gorgeous scene. The flowers this year are loving all the rain we’ve been getting. Hopefully you’ve started to see some warmer temps back East.
Mary, this is a wonderful painting! The soft colors are lovely. Reminds me of one of the many things I miss about Texas.
Hi Rene’, the beautiful wildflowers are magical here in Texas – aren’t they? Thank you for your wonderful thoughts on the painting!
Mary, your painting is exquisite of this field of bluebonnets. Lady Bird Johnson would have loved this.
Ah Jet Lady Bird Johnson created such a fantastic place for wildflowers to flourish. Thanks so very much!
Oh, Mary. This SO lovely. Congrats.
Thank you Cynthia, I truly appreciate your generous feedback!
I love this!
Thanks so much Fiona!
Tenderly strong.. 🙂
Thank you for such an interesting description to your reaction – love it!
Oh, this is absolutely adorable!! I want to move into that painting and never leave ❤
Love your feedback Heidi – thank you so much for visiting and commenting! Hope you are well ~
Mary this is gorgeous. You bring a softness to your art. I love the little fence posts. I want to touch the tree branches. It’s a lovely picture.
Thank you Joanna! It was an interesting day out when we saw the field – soft, grayish kind of day and then bursts of suns rays, I was hoping to translate it in the painting (thanks for noticing).
So beautiful Mary. Perfect.
Thanks Holly!
I would say this is not one of your best one, but still appreciate your hardwork.
Thanks Alok, honesty is always appreciated. Thank you for feeling comfortable to voice your opinion. Hope you have a lovely weekend.
Mary, gorgeous picture with a dreamy impressionist feel. Substitute poppies for bluebonnets, add a couple of decorous 19th century mums with offspring, and Voila: Monet! But no, your State flower is a delight. Don’t change a thing! I love it.
Paul
Wonderful Paul, loved reading your reaction to the painting! So glad you enjoyed it ~
Especially love this one, Mary.
Thanks Janell!!
Another beautiful scene Mary. The tones are just right giving it great depth and space. Not easy to achieve. And the lovely harmony of colour. You’ve distilled the potent power of green which sometimes overwhelms my landscape attempts. One to be proud of!
Thanks very much Karen – appreciate your description and comments! Was a wonderful scene to translate into a painting.
Hey, is this a long-lost Monet painting? 😉
This is so beautiful, and LOOK at all those bluebonnets! My mother loves these flowers… I’m sure if she went to this field, she’d bring a shovel to dig up a few plants and take them home with her. (Shhh!)
Thanks Ruth for your kind feedback on the painting. It’s more of a quiet scene that was not being noticed by too many people, I knew there was a painting waiting to happen.
I would love to walk through this beautiful scene, Mary. Your painting is exquisite. The soft greens and blues are so sublime. I’ve never seen Bluebonnets in real life, but I really hope to do so one day. 🙂
Hi Sylvia – thank you so much for your thoughtful feedback. You and your hubby should schedule a trip to Texas (Ennis, TX) during the month of April – for that is the time when the wildflowers are in abundance. The town has a website that monitors the flowers.
Mary, this is almost like a dream. A painting of heaven, perhaps! So beautiful and delicate and just dreamy soft and perfect. Just the right color balance. You so have the touch. Wow. Stunning!
Hi Laura, thank you – I really enjoyed your description and enthusiastic response. The color balance was a little difficult in the scene because there was so much green, but I kept graying the mid-ground grass and scraping out and eventually the color was toned down. Thanks again for your continued encouraging support my friend.
Always a pleasure, Mary 😊
How on earth can you make blue glow so? Reflecting the sky above
Hi Derrick, thanks very much – I enjoyed your thoughts. Glowing blue, I like that!
Beautiful, Mary! 🙂 ❤
Thanks Natalie!
You’re welcome ❣
So beautiful!
Thank you Nicodemas!!
This one is absolutely amazing!
Thank you for your enthusiastic response!!
Amazing blue gentle. I love it!
This blue is meant to provide a soft and calming atmosphere – glad you enjoyed the painting.
Ohhh!!! Mary! I had to stop and gaze at this beautiful painting for sometime before commenting. Truly inspiring. In awe as always. 🙂
Thank you my friend for such an amazing reaction to this painting – it means a lot Susan.
It’s beautiful!!!
Thank you so much!!
Thank you for describing your process… always interested in how you prepared and painted such a lovely spring scene. I always love blue flowers, they seem rare in nature compared to the yellows, purples and reds.
Thank you Beth – I appreciate your response to the painting. In this case the blues win in the Texas Springtime – they are gorgeous flowers, dotting the field and in some cases large patches can be seen literally covering whole fields. It’s really wonderful.
Sounds wonderful. I think I would like to visit Texas in the springtime. 🙂
Try to make your visit during April (middle-to-end of the month) when the flowers are in full bloom. The town of Ennis has a website devoted to the flowers and lets the public know when the blooms are out. Your amazing lens would capture some awesome images.
Wow! This is so beautiful, Mary! In the time that I was fortunate enough to discover your blog, your work has always been great, but I do believe it’s getting better with each project. I love this!
Thank you so much Jill for your beautiful comment – it means a lot to receive such a wonderful compliment on my work. Thank you for always being present and providing me with such encouraging support, it’s what makes the blogging world so special.
Another beautiful rendered painting….Your creative juices are flowing:)
Thank you so much Janet. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
You to Mary…happy painting…janet:)
You’ve covered some beautiful flowers this week so now I think you need to google purple New Hampshire Lupines. 🙂
Thanks Judy – you know Lupines aren’t too dissimilar from bluebonnets, at least in color and body shape. My friend was just here from CT and we were talking about the similarities of bluebonnets and lupines – you must have read our minds!!
My first impression was just like Marina’s….an amazing river of blue. I like the way the underpainting warms the blue and cools the yellow. Another lovely impressionistic painting!
Thank you so much Cynthia, your support is always present and generous. Thank you for recognizing the underpainting – it worked in doing exactly as you described. A lot of razor scraping down and rebuilding in this painting to achieve the soft atmosphere. Its been great fun painting in color again – thank you!!
I’m still pleasantly surprised to see a river of wildflowers in Texas during spring. I can almost feel the nice breeze while admiring your beautiful painting. Thank you, Mary! 🙂
Thanks very much Amy – loved your thoughts on this scene. River of blue wildflowers seems to be a common theme. Glad you enjoyed the piece.
So delicate and lovely – the colors and details and softness. xo Love your work beyond words
Thank you Cynthia, I really enjoyed reading your thoughts and description of the scene. The softness is what I was trying to achieve, thank you for noticing and mentioning!
I’m still thinking about your lovely painting today … it’s so beautifully done!
Thank you for your kind thoughts Cynthia, means a lot.
What a sight, Mary! The river of bluebonnets is just wonderful. 🙂
Thank you Marina – love the description, that is what the bluebonnets seemed like, a river of blue flowers!! Thanks my friend, have a wonderful rest of the week.
You too!! 🙂 xx
Excuse me it is so beautiful that I forget to write in english! Very magnificent!
Thank you Dsaquarelles for your generous enthusiasm for the scene – so glad you enjoyed it!
magnifique atmosphère de printemps très beau!
Thank you Dsaquarelles!
Gosh, what a wonderful picture. The tree and the dreamy drifts of blue… I’d like to be there. 🙂
Thanks very much Rebecca!
It’s sublimely beautiful Mary! So peaceful. The blue adds to the feeling of calmness.
Hi Rhonda, thank you. Love your description because that was how the scene felt when I saw it – quiet and peaceful.
Wonderful!
Thank you Nadia, really appreciate it!