Flowers In The Foothills 4

This is the fourth painting I've done of Flowers in the Foothills and I have a feeling it won't be my last! I normally only ever do one painting of a subject before I move on, but I have found myself returning again and again to this incomparable field of flowers with its kaleidoscopic colours ranged like a rainbow at the feet of the magnificent purple mountains. G and I were driving around the foothills of Carpinteria on a lovely sunny day when we came upon it. We immediately stopped the car and hopped out to explore. I began to take photographs of the flowers from every angle and perspective, rows and rows and rows of the most incredible colours and blooms, and I remember saying to G that there could be a dozen paintings for me to do in this field! We returned later on with a canvas and I sketched out what would become the first Flowers in the Foothills painting. Fortunately we had taken so many photographs because when we went back the next day all the flowers had been picked and the field was bare! I very rarely sketch from photographs as I prefer to work from life, but those photographs thankfully provided me with an ongoing and glorious source of inspiration for this and the other paintings I have done of the Flowers in the Foothills series. What an absolute joy to paint!