Daily Painting Practice - orchid still life

Last post I talked about painting over  and into old paintings to hopefully improve them  and then try to sell them again. I had a few comments and emails asking how do I go about this. Well, I just paint as if I am continuing the process. I don't varnish my paintings any more so there is nothing to remove. Other than using spray-on retouch varnish ( a few coats) to protect the painting before shipping to the gallery, my last step in painting is usually brushing on a thin coat of Liquin as my last step, this way I can always  paint over or correct at any time.

Now onto something new

 This one has several interesting challenges for me as a painter. (why make it easy?) Mainly, the challenge is all about the textures of the objects and how they each catch and reflect the light differently.

My mind understands that the wood or cloth (in this case a silk scarf) is made of  different material than the porcelain figurine. My mind tells me the whites of the orchid should reflect the light differently than the hard surface on the  porcelain....but does my brush understand this? ... too soon to judge


I think it was Gandhi who said "Be the change you wish to see"
If he was an artist he might have said, "see the surface you wish to paint."
In others words,  it helps to think like a sculptor when you paint. imagine you are touching the surface of the object. How does it feel in your hands? How does the form and texture feel?

 

White Orchids

- work in progress-

24"x30"

oil on canvas

That type of thinking helps me  when all the textures start to visually blend together.
Now if someone could just tell me , How does the light in the air feel?