Maggie Libby, Hot Colors, Hotter Garden, oil on panel, 16 x 12 in., 2022.
I’m using up the oil paint I’ve had in the studio for twenty years, and nothing compares to the luscious saturation of oil paint, especially cadmium red—the way it sings with green! The explosiveness of reds and oranges captures the spidery beauty of cactus dahlias, which thrive in the heat. In the microenvironment of the central Maine garden, this color and heat are sometimes welcome and celebrated—but for how long?
Maggie Libby, Sunflower, Verge of Decay, oil on panel, 12 x 12 in., 2020.
As part of my studio warm-up process, I happily begin my summer sessions by working directly from life, quickly drawing contour and gesture studies of whatever is growing outside in the vegetable, fruit, and perennial beds just beyond the studio. I also allow myself to work in oils outdoors, and this piece was an experiment in the direct application of paint while using as little solvent as possible to prevent allergic reactions. Plants die beautifully in the garden, and this sunflower seemed particularly joyous in doing so after providing many of its seeds to the birds.