Little Odd Job of Wildflowers

A friend-collector (collector-friend? friend/collector? How do I call these wonderful folks??) brought me a hand mirror, requesting that I paint wildflowers on the back.

I began with a sketch in colored pencil to see if I was on the same track with her.


When she approved, it was time for oil painting in great detail, my favorite way to paint.

The upper flowers will be wildflowers of Mineral King; the lower ones will be foothill wildflowers.
Green always makes things look better.
More green = more better.
Am I finished? Nope. Friend/Customer requested the leaf or two of a corn lily. I can do that! Besides, I want to do tighter detail on some of the flowers, and more solid greens in the background.
Now it is finished. This method of photographing it on top of the reference photos makes me smile.

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8 Comments

  1. That is so pretty! You may have opened up a whole new business!

    • Natalie, maybe I should start hitting garage sales to find old hand mirrors to paint. Or other things. . . any ideas?

  2. Jana, I love all your paintings but I have to say this is absolutely beautiful!! ??

    • So nice to hear from you, Barbara! Thank you for checking in and for loving the mirror. It was an odd job, but wow, was it ever fun!

    • I think that would be so much fun. If I get any ideas, I’ll let you know. Maybe some old kitchen items?

      • Natalie, that would be great. Thank you! But remember, hand painted items are going to run somewhere in the $50-100 range, depending on complexity and size, so think hard about whether or not a customer would think it would be worth that.

  3. Beautiful!

    • Thank you, Nancy, I agree with your assessment. 😎 Hard to go wrong with wildflowers!

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