Sometimes my paintings originate from something I have photographed, but because something is missing in the composition to make an interesting painting, I must add an element from my imagination. Sometimes I must or choose to alter what is in the photo to make it more interesting. A good example of this is my original watercolor "Garden Splendor". I visited a local nursery, digital camera in hand. Part of their permanent display included orange canna blooming in the sunlight. Because of the interplay of sunlight and shade of the leaves, each leaf seemed to be a slightly different hue or shade. I chose to play that up in my painting. The painting seemed somewhat boring with only flora so I added some fauna as well, a Baltimore oriole with its nest in the upper left corner.




Actual works of art sometimes inspire my paintings. At the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, my favorite painting is "Spring" by Alma-Tadema. The original oil shows a throng of people celebrating the arrival of spring in the classical world, probably in Rome. [See below] I was intrigued by the three girls in the very front of the procession. I painted them on a full sheet of watercolor, made them older, gave them brighter garments, and because I could not fit in the background, framed them with what I hope is a graceful tree. I signed my painted with "Study" even though I had altered it greatly and called it "Ode to Spring" because I had borrowed an idea from another artist. My painting is below the poster of the original.

http://www.absolutearts.com/cgi-bin/portfolio/art/show-art.cgi?login=joycefredette&number=5795396&title=Ode_to_Spring-1097642080.jpg

How exciting! I have kept a journal off and on for years, but I have never blogged until now. As a matter of fact, I do not believe that I had ever heard the word "blog" until six months or so ago, and then I had to figure out what it meant on my own. My definition may not be the same as another person's, but I perceive it to be a kind of stream-of consciousness journal-writing for oneself which may be shared with others. It may or may not have a specific topic.

The topic for this blog is my artistic endeavors. It's purpose is to be a kind of record for me and to serve as an explanation for anyone who is interested in or curious about my art. That may sound egotistical, but then you do not have to read further, do you? Artists need to have a healthy ego in order to be risk-takers. This blog is intended to nurture the risk-taking side of myself more than anything else.

One painted I am especially proud of, "Nestled Together", originated on a Sunday afternoon local garden tour here in Camarillo, California. The purpose of the tour was to raise money for the homeless. At one of the homes, I took photos of a garden containing rocks and succulents, which have always fascinated me. The result was this painting which won two ribbons at the 2004 Ventura County Fair and an honorable mention at the California Gold Coast Watercolor Society Fall 2005 Juried Show.



Sometimes I prefer to paint from my imagination rather than from real life or from a photo. "Neptune's Baubles" is an example of allowing my muse to roam free. I love seashells and used to have quite a collection when we lived in the Phillipines during my husband's two tours there with the U.S. Navy. My favorite among them was the chambered nautilus. I began to think of what it would be like if they came in different sizes and hues, and this painting evolved from that playful revery:



Sometimes my paintings originate from something I have photographed, but because something is missing in the composition to make an interesting painting, I must add an element from my imagination. Sometimes I must or choose to alter what is in the photo to make it more interesting. A good example of this is my original watercolor "Garden Splendor". I visited a local nursery, digital camera in hand. Part of their permanent display included orange canna blooming in the sunlight. Because of the interplay of sunlight and shade of the leaves, each leaf seemed to be a slightly different hue or shade. I chose to play that up in my painting. The painting seemed somewhat boring with only flora so I added some fauna as well, a Baltimore oriole with its nest in the upper left corner.