"New Dawn," 24 x 18" original acrylic on canvas, copyright Joan Cole
I've just finished "New Dawn," a painting I've been working on throughout our bush's blooming season. These roses have been climbing along our deck since my husband planted the bush twenty years ago. Although they bloom in quiet profusion every year, this year, they have been even more abundant. It has been my joy to spend days with them, watching them bud, plump up, and unfurl their modest beauty while I tried to capture just some of their glory in pigment on canvas. Of the hundreds of pale pink blossoms that have come and gone, only a few remain. I'm so glad I have "New Dawn" to remind me of their delicate and fleeting beauty.
I love painting outdoors--or en plein air, as the French would say. Maybe because I'm near-sighted, I see the world much as the Impressionists did. Whether that is really true or not, my paintings of the natural world reflect my delight in color and light.