Poppies and Bees

Oil on linen board, 24x30cm.

I've just finished this painting of the poppies in the garden. Just as the last petals of the year have fallen from them.

At first sight they just seem to be a bright orange red. Just like the irises, there is a difference between the light reflected from the surface and the light passing through the petals. The flowers were also colouring the stems and leaves near them.

I had the irises in the background at one point but it just wasn't wrking. Not as simple a job as it first seems.

I made this video for the virtual open studio, you can see how busy and noisy the poppies were with the bees.