I started the day ready to paint this beautiful petunia. Wouldn't that have made a beautiful painting? Ah, but the painting gods love to tease the struggling artist. I started out just fine... but no matter what I did, I could not mix that lavender color and paint it soft enough. I must have tried 3 times before I said , "I'm not a lavender type guy anyway, I need a zinnia!"
So out to the garden I go.... clip, clip... and back to the studio. It's a good thing my wife plants so many flowers...
Orange Zinnia5"x7"
oil on canvas panel
SOLD
Summer is ending fast and the garden is starting to show the signs of quitting. Luckily for me zinnias hold on as long as they do. I may have to finish this week and next with a flurry of flower studies.... but then again, I usually don't decide what I will paint until 5 minutes before I begin.Self Critique Time:
I like the smaller composition in this painting. It feels quiet, even though there is a loud orange zinnia sitting in the middle. I started in by directly painting this one no preliminary drawing. I think it worked pretty well. One other thing I tried was using very dry paint in the beginning and hardly any turps to thin the paint. I'll give myself a star and tape it to the refrigerator.
4 comments:
shame...the start looked good
magenta,white and a touch of blue would have done the trick to catch the lavender color!
oh well,you ended up with something nice anyway!!
yeah real shame.. infect the under painting looks so good..you should have just stopped there.
i'm sure dozens of artist out there know what it's like to lose a potentially good painting:)
Bravo on the first painting, and bravo on the perserverance to create a second one when the 1st wasn't working for you. (Amazing what a stroll through the garden will yield, eh?) They're both wonderful. :-)
First time here... I REALLY enjoy how you photograph your art and the item that you are painting at the same time -- which is a skill unto itself!!
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