Bringing the outside in

California Poppy (6″ x 8″ oil on board)

I’ve been meaning to paint the California Poppies in my garden for weeks.  They are such cheerful things – opening up in the mornings to greet the sunshine and then closing up in the evening when it starts to get dark.  It’s been so hot though that I didn’t think I could manage to sit out there and paint them so I decided to pick just one flower, pop it in a tiny vase and retreat to the relative shade and cool of my kitchen to paint it there!