A wise king once said that “everyone should eat and drink and find enjoyment for all his hard work. It is the gift of God.” It goes hand in hand with the saying of enjoying the fruits of one’s labor.
I was able to experience that at the reception for my small works show at Folger Gallery. (see my previous post)
It was a pleasant intimate reception with several friends, family, collectors and others who enjoyed viewing my work. Several paintings sold at the reception and others afterwards.
I thank all those who attended and for Therese Folger Sitzman and those who assisted that evening in making the event a success. The gallery looked great!
Here’s one photo of three of my paintings displayed before guests started arriving showing one already sold indicated by the red dot next to the painting on top. One of my dear collectors was the first to arrive and purchased it and one other painting. A nice surprise upon my arrival to the show.
Three of twelve works by William Hagerman at Folger Gallery
Additionally, the refreshments and wine were just right for the evening as was the nice flower arrangement of orchids.
Thank you Therese for letting my wife and I take the flower arrangement afterwards. Here are a couple of photos after taking it home.
Orchid flower arrangement from Folger Gallery
Another view of the flower arrangement from Folger Gallery
Yes, it is nice to enjoy the fruits of one’s labor.
That makes so much sense. I use a small round brush to dab the bluebonnets on. I think it would be great to do a post on painting bluebonnets. They are so small in the pictures that it is difficult to see how they are painted. Thank you so much again for your generosity. I wish I lived closer to you so I could take your classes. I will keep practicing.
Randy Arnold
Hi William,
I am enjoying the ebook. I having a difficult time painting the bluebonnet so they pop. They blend in too much. Can you offer a suggestion.
Thanks,
Randy Arnold
Randy,
If the bluebonnets don’t stand out from the grass, most likely it’s a problem of value in which the grass and bluebonnets are of the same value or close to it. Either your bluebonnets need to be darker or your grass lighter. Perhaps both. From observation on a sunny day, bluebonnets generally look darker than the grasses. The color of a bluebonnet shifts to a blue violet. Therefore, I’d suggest making your bluebonnet color based off of ultramarine blue + violet + white (small amount) for a lighter version add more white. If it needs a little extra pop try cobalt blue plus a little white. I’ve even added phthalo blue + white. But do so sparingly and for a little extra emphasis in sunlit areas if you think it’s still not intense enough. Make your first stroke using the darker base color of ultramarine and violet. Then on top of that a lighter version painting from the top of the bluebonnet about half way down leaving the base the darker blue. Cap it off at the top with a value near white. I generally add a touch of red to the white, so it’s just not straight white. These are just some generalities. I will probably at some point write a post on painting bluebonnets in the future.