Diagonal Poppies

Diagonal Poppies
Oil on canvas, 80 x 80 cm,  commission

I've called this Diagonal Poppies because of the composition (the flower heads rise diagonally into the sky as you go from left to right), although it also, effectively, "Cottington's Poppies 5". The image, though it represents a very specific place, is a composite of several source images, and I wanted to make sure that it was a strong image (hence the geometric design) that was distinct from previous treatments of the same subject.

Here are the "in-progress" shots:




The hill in the background is Cottington's Hill, upon which sits our local radio mast, Hannington Mast. The mast is, unsurprisingly, a local landmark, and its inclusion was requested by my client. The daisies were also specified, and are based on the chamomile found in the field from which the view is taken.

• Click here to see other Cottington's Poppies paintings
• Click here to see other Poppy paintings
• Click here to see other paintings sharing the same location

Cottington's Poppies 4

This was painted as a gift. It occurred to me that a small painting with just one or two poppies would work well; the recipient is local so I made sure to indicate the location with the radio mast (a distinctive landmark); and because I wanted to be able to give the painting quickly, I used acrylic.

Much as with Fire Hydrant, the background was painted conventionally (with a brush), while the foreground - the poppies - were added with a knife.


Acrylic on canvas, 5 x 7"

Cottington's Poppy Box (Cottington's Poppies 3)

Please excuse me for posting an unfinished work.

Cottington's Poppies 2 - mini version

This was meant to be an oil painting done with a knife on a 30 x 30" box canvas. But the big box canvas hasn't arrived, so I made a miniature version instead. In acrylic, with a brush.

Cottington's Poppies - SOLD

Well, the poppies don't belong to Cottington - not as far as I know, anyhow. But that is Cottington's Hill in the background (Mr. Cottington did build a big house up there, but the house is gone, now, and the most significant structure on that hill now is the TV and radio mast that can be seen on this previous painting). No, these are wayside poppies, growing on the field margin - in this case, a wheat field.