Blog
Joyful Bouquet – Painting of the Week
Active Shapes
These poppies were planted by monks at the Monastery in Richardton, ND where I taught a watercolor workshop years ago. It was such a fun workshop as my daughter Monica, 18 at the time, assisted me with supplies and painted along with the group. I heard her giggle along with the class over one of my jokes. On the way home, she gave me one of those backhanded compliments saying, “Mom, your weird sense of humor kind of works with this teaching thing.” Crazily that made my day!
In Joyful Bouquet, recently purchased by a wonderful patron, the Impressionistic green background perfectly complements the pink poppies, supporting and sometimes hiding their lyrical stems. See how these active leaf shapes group up often forming larger shapes that stand out because of grouped values and temperature.
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6th ANNUAL AIS ASSOCIATE MEMBER ONLINE EXHIBITION!
Recycled by Ellen Jean Diederich
Recycled is currently in the American Impressionist 2026 Associate Online Exhibition. Online exhibitions are very popular with artists as they do not have to ship their paintings to the exhibition site. The quantity of entries is often higher than a normal exhibition, making them very competitive. Online shows are wonderful opportunities for viewers like yourself to see work by selected artists from all over the United States. Seven jurors deliberated over 1550 entries, and 248 were selected. Awards will be judged on August 20th, 2026.