"Donna's Flowers" oil on cardboard ©1969 Bjlane
My oldest sister handed me the small group of flowers left from her very first bouquet. The earthy-smelling carnations were beginning to show signs of their inevitable demise. A gift from the boy at her very first high school dance, they now would be memorialized on a special piece of cardboard that my father had cut from a cardboard box, and the leftover paint from a paint-by-number set (the very first set of oil paints I'd ever owned).
With the cardboard on my lap, a small brush in my hand, and miniature cups of liquid pigment sitting at my feet, I sparingly applied the paint onto the brown surface. I chose to paint the flower blossoms first, fearing they would soon be brown and wilted. Soon I realized the vase holding the flowers wouldn't fit on my predesigned substructure. I improvised. The oddly lopsided vase was created to fit my need.
When the flowers, stems and vase were front and center, I began adding the delicate bedroom curtains. The floor mimicked the paint-by-number floral, which I had completed just days before. I was 13-years-old. This was my first original oil painting. In my young mind, I just KNEW I had created my first masterpiece.
Want something created especially for you?
Check out my Products and Services
Itching to learn more? For commissions, pricing, or workshop and classes information,
contact me directly: bjartworks@mac.com
or check out my Facebook page: Bjartworks-Art by Bjlane