Hearts and Flowers

Hearts and Flowers    © 2014 Joan T. Terrell

An original oil painting on panel with black 3/4" cradled sides that act as a frame, but could be put into a traditional type of frame if desired

6"H x 6"W

Do you want to re-paint every single artwork you've done? I do. The first go around was OK, but didn't seem to have the joie de vivre that my friend, Katie (the bride, in case you hadn't guessed) emanates. Wonder if you recognize this painting from its first version in this post from May named Spring Trio (hint, it's the one on the left).

After taking another look at the photo, turning it this way and that, I had a flat forehead moment. There were hearts everywhere... my favorite thing to embed subliminally in my paintings. Even  her wedding gown bodice was forming a heart. Here's a look at the colorful acrylic block-in stage, pointing out just a few of the heart shapes.

I got so wrapped up in this one that I forgot to take step-by step photos, so here's a look at the final again. Notice the lacey squgglies around the bouquet? That's an Italian art technique called sgraffito. It means "to scratch" and is used to score into wet paint to reveal the dry layer of color beneath.

Here are some of the details. Are there additional hearts and flowers revealed in the sgraffito? You betcha. Can't have too many, you know.

  

A famous piece of music titled Hearts and Flowers was written by Theodore Moses Tobani in 1893 and is used frequently as mood music for dramatic scenes in silent films. You'd recognize it if you heard it. And isn't that what love, marriage, and baby carriages are all about? Ah, life.