Sunday, April 5, 2009

Birthday tulip


I'm 44 today (oh my god, how fast the time goes). A couple of years ago, a friend brought me some purple tulips (in a little pot from the grocery store kind of thing) which I loved. When they were done blooming, I planted them in the yard. The next year I was so excited to see the leaves coming up. I eagerly awaited the day I would have my purple blooms to admire once more.

The leaves came up beautifully. There they stood proudly, full of promise. Alas, however, not full of buds. None whatsoever. Very bizarre. The year after that, nothing came up at all. Sigh.

So yesterday, I bought myself a few of those grocery store cut tulips. I've always wanted to paint them, for some reason. I couldn't find any of those really dark ones that I love, so settled for a lighter purple. It was hard to decide how MUCH of the flowers/leaves to paint--the whole bouquet? Three flowers? As you can see, I (as usual) settled for simplicity.

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More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

21 comments:

artbyakiko said...

Happy Birthday, Jala! Your tulip is beautiful! I like how you placed it on the canvas.

Dar Presto said...

Happy Birthday, sweet Jala!
A beautiful tulip, with luscious color.

Anonymous said...

A beautiful tulip, nicely lit, and perfectly placed.

Happy birthday!

Leslie Saeta said...

Lovely painting and a lovely post. Happy Birthday my dear!

Trevor Lingard said...

Hi Jala
Happy birthday...Happy birthday..Happy birthday to you.
Beautiful painting, beautiful flower, beautiful lady.
Best Wishes

r garriott said...

Happy birthday from me, too. You're just getting to the good years (I have to hope).

Too bad about the tulips not blooming; the fancier the variety the less likely they'll come back, especially when 'forced' (grown in a pot). Best bet is to plant fresh bulbs in the fall, and use bone meal to feed them.

(signed, the Tulipmaniac)

ps, Great painting! Very lovely & subtle shades! Oh! That range of yellow green to blue green in the leaves is delightful. Same with the color range in the purple. YUM!

Vern Schwarz said...

Happy Birthday Jala, the 5th anniversary of your 39th ain't so bad. Simple is very good sometimes, and this painting is way better than very good. Love the purples and the blue green highlights under the petals.

loriann signori said...

Happy Birthday Jala! The color you chose for the negative space works well with the red/purple of the tulip. Have a wonderful day.

Jane Hunt said...

Hope you had a great birthday! This is absolutely beautiful!

Jane Hunt said...

I just read your profile and realized you're in Boulder too - small world! :)

Edward Burton said...

Happy Birthday, Jala! It's a very beautiful painting - well done!

Janelle Goodwin said...

Happy Birthday to you! Your work is simply beautiful!

kim denise said...

Happy Birthday, Jala! I hope you had a wonderful day. This is a lovely piece. Love the colors and the crop. Those touches of color in the leaves are just perfect.

Why is it so much more interesting to paint part of something rather than the whole thing? I'll arrange and rearrange and look and sketch and think, but it's not until I crop that I get interested, LOL.

FitFoodieMegha said...

Congratulations on entering 45th year of life...May god bless you with love, success, peace and whatever you need...:) Beautiful work..Tulip color is very nice....BTW I have started a new blog dedicated to my sketch work — Art on Sketchbook

Sandra Galda said...

Happy Birthday Jala! I love your art. This is a beautiful and graceful tulip. I love the balance of the purple/green and their tonal harmony. Great!

Pam Holnback said...

Happy Birthday. When I can't decide how many of one object to paint, I often do a series...try 3 tulips tomorrow.

Jala Pfaff said...

Thank you all so, so much for your kind birthday wishes! :D

L.Holm said...

Happy Birthday, Jala!! Beautiful painting by beautiful you! :-) Liz

Kelley Carey MacDonald said...

Happy Birthday (belated)! I love birthdays - you are a very YOUNG looking 44! I would have guessed years younger, no fooling. Your secret must be happiness! I've done the same thing with tulips, they are big babies, those flowers! Hope you had a happy day!

Laurel Daniel said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! So late but fully heart felt.

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

Lovely tulip.
Hey, my 4 legged 'boyfriend' Wendell turned 13 on your birthday.
Many more my dear, and I hope for Wendell, too.