"Stolen Peonies" - 16 x 16 inches - oil on canvas - SOLD

"Stolen Peonies" - 16 x 16 inches - oil on canvas - SOLD

Today's painting has a story behind it.  I stopped by my friend's house for an afternoon visit.  As we were chatting, I noticed a vase filled with peonies.  They caught my attention and my eyes kept wandering back to them.  We said our goodbyes and I went on with my day.  That evening, I just kept thinking about those flowers and knew I had to paint them.

The next day, I went back to her house with the intention of taking the peonies.  We chatted for a bit and then her phone rang.  It sounded like it wasn't going to be a quick conversation so I got up, picked up the peony vase and motioned that I was taking them.  She gave me a look that said, "What are you doing?!?!?"  I chose to interpret that look to mean, "Please, take my peonies."  So, off I went with my stolen prize in hand.  

In my mind, this was an impressionistic painting and I didn't want to get bogged down in the details - I just wanted it to be loose and fresh.  I kept the background fairly abstract as I pulled complementary colors into the tabletop to give a nice pop of color.  I was really pleased with the final result.

I've been working on a new website, www.LaurieGMiller.com  Please check it out by clicking here.  Let me know what you think and I'd appreciate if you'd share it with your art-loving friends!