Painting California Poppies
California Poppies (scientific name Eschscholzia Californica) sometimes are called a Cup of Gold. They are official California state flowers.
I found this small golden field when going one day to Blake Garden in Berkeley Hills for a plain-air session. I was so occupied painting another field of Red Poppies that I only had a few minutes to run around the park and take some photos. In contrary to the poppies that I painted that day (see painting below), these orange cuties were volunteers. They just spread around the park glowing and bringing light and cheer.
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As I recall, it was a little meadow with the Red and Pink poppies hiding in the forest like garden.
The red ones were planted by people.
The orange ones were probably brought by birds and wind.
They decided to locate themselves wherever was comfortable: on a pathway that brought the artists to a marvelous view of the San Francisco Bay.
I painted an artist there who came to paint California Poppies; so, that there is more to the story. When the viewer comes to the painting, the fist thing he/she sees are the poppies: bright, orange, big. Yet with more careful observation, you can notice that somebody else is there admiring the orange flowers at the Bay.
In the last couple of years I painted quite a few of those orange flowers. But the painting above is probably the largest one
(original painting California Poppies is 23"x17" on Strathmore 140 lb Watercolor paper)
and it has a story
:0)
Here are just a few of those "Golden Pots":
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In Every Piece Of My Art There Is A Piece Of My Heart And A Sparkle Of My Soul
