Christina Ostenstad

As winter goes back to sleep, and spring comes alive, i am always inspired by the flora and fauna that awakens. In February on the Westcoast, the crocus’, tulips and daffodils start to appear and emerge from the ground. We general have fairly mild winters, and this year has been no exception. Our big snow storm of 2026, resulted in 1 cm of snow that was gone with in hours of coming. However the flowers were starting to come and poke through that 1 day.

I decided to do a small study on the crocus. Sometimes the crocus have a translucent feel and look. They can be quite fragile.and the colouring is very vibrant.

For this painting, i used the 2 brush method. Using a loaded paint brush to put the first layer down, and then coming along with a secondary damp brush to smooth out the paint.

This allows to flow the colours in to each other.

I tried tulips also, not totally the result i was after on the top flower.. but i am satisfied with the 2 other tulips.. blending to try and add more depth.