Day 30 - Magnolias

[vilakins]

Today's entry for the naarmamo National Art Making Month challenge is based on a photo I took last Monday. Yay; spring is on its way; in fact it starts this Monday officially.

Magnolias



I wanted to go for a thick paint look, like oil paint, and only used about nine or ten colours.

My NaArMaMo 2008 Gallery is here.

Comments

[vandonovan.livejournal.com]

Oh, very nice and minimalistic! Though your compression seems to have terribly pixelated the sky.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Oh crap. Is this version better?

There's always something I don't notice till I've posted. :-P

[vandonovan.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, that's much better!! I'm the same way though, I'll upload the wrong version or compress it horribly or not resize it or something. It looks splendid now. :D

[imhilien.livejournal.com]

Very nice... I love magnolias. :)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

So do I!

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Pretty!

Yes, we all know spring is coming when the birds sing, the flowers bloom... the entire town gets hay fever...

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

:-D I'm fine with my daily "snorty-drugs" as we call them! I'd be sneezing myself crazy without Alanase. :-P

[nautile26.livejournal.com]

Wheeee, spring! Your magnolias are excellent, so vibrant and beautiful. :)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :-D

[daiseechain.livejournal.com]

Oh yay! You did it! And it does look great. The more I look at it, the more it reminds me of summers in Christchurch.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Really? They stayed in bloom that long? I do love magnolias.

[daiseechain.livejournal.com]

I think it's the colour of the sky behind them that really does it more than the magnolias themselves, but their colour contrasts so strongly with that cerulean sky that it draws attention to it.

I also love magnolias; one of my favourite plants.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

The sky was amazing! We've seen so little of it for months.

[san-valentine.livejournal.com]

That's very bold and pretty - possibly the best thing you've done all month, apart from the sci-fi A-Z, which is in a different style anyway.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And I'm glad the SF ABCs worked well because they were from imagination rather than working from a photo or screencap.

[trixieleitz]

That's beautiful! I'm no art expert, but I think the minimalist style you've chosen gives it a kind of Japanese feel.

I love magnolias in early spring, just before they start to come into leaf. The tree is all stark, with those furry buds and voluptuous blooms bursting from the slim grey branches. There's a big tree in the old part of campus; I must remember to take my camera next time I'm there, and get some shots.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I think it's too heavy-handed to be Japanese, but I did consider going for that look with delicate brush strokes, but doubted I'd carry it off.

Magnolias look strange and wonderful at this time of year. I've been admiring the ones along the main road, but never bothered to stop. I only got this one because I went to a friend's house in a dead-end street and it was there on the berm.

[entropy-house.livejournal.com]

Beautiful! It reminds me of the WPA posters you showed us earlier.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It is a bit, with no shading from one colour to another. :-)

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Oo pretty. As has been said, it's a pleasing mixture of Japanese ukiyo-e and Deco litho minimalism.

We can has icon?

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Wow, thanks!

Of course! I'm going to be making some icons based on this month's art next week. :-)