Hung up on Yellow

August 30th, 2014: Oil on Board, 8" x 10", Work in Progress.  I'm trying to take advantage of the flowers that are left before they are all gone so I thought I'd do a slightly larger painting of some Black Eyed Susans.  I flew through the underpainting and all was going well until I went back in to work on the flowers, which I couldn't seem to nail even after wiping them out and trying again about four times or so.  I seem to have troubles with yellow, getting enough contrast and still keeping the color semi accurate.  So I gave up for the day and I'm not sure what will become of this as the arrangement is already all wilted.  I was really excited about painting that can too, oh well.

#46. Cosmos in a Cup

 

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August 29th, 2014: Oil on Board, 6" x 6".  I've been so busy with other things the last couple weeks I've missed most of the last of the flowers (fall comes early here).  I had my eye on some big sunflowers, but finding them withered and dry today I went for these cosmos instead.  I like the looseness of the flowers and these pink and white cosmos always make me think of my Grandmother... her favorite colors. 

#45. Milkweed Cocktail

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August 8th, 2014: Oil on Board, 6" x 6".  I really wanted to paint the milkweed flowers, which are really interesting looking, smell amazingly sweet and are loved by me as well as the Monarch butterflies, but I missed the flowers and the pods are all there is now.  Supposedly you can actually eat these strange and softly spiky things, but don't take my word for it, I've yet to try them myself.

#44. Black Eyes

SOLD!

August 7th, 2014: Oil on Board, 6" x 6".  Although I love me some Black-Eyed Susans it always makes me a little sad when they start blooming.  They seem to be the heralds of the end of summer and the coming cold.  For some reason (perhaps because sunflowers were one of the first things I remember trying to paint as a child), sunflower paintings always seem a bit cliche to me.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is one of my favorite paintings once I finished it!

#43. Happy Harlequins with Step by Step Photos

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August 6th, 2014: Oil on Board, 6" x 6".  These harlequin marigolds are so cool, I love how each flower has unique markings and coloring.  My favorite one is the almost all red one, I love how the red is so dark it's practically black.  Below you'll find the step by step process of this painting, I've been trying a slightly different method (I enjoy documenting the process mostly because I get a kick out of scrolling through the photos afterwards and watching my painting magically complete itself).

Burnt Umber wash and sketch.

Covering the whole thing with color...

which I then blot with a tissue.  I really like the simplicity of the painting at this stage and wish I could end with something sort of in between this and what my typical finished painting looks like, alas, I tend to get a bit hung up in the details.

Flowers mostly finished... I went back in and messed with them just a bit after this.

And then, on to defining and highlighting the leaves and stems.

Flowers and greenery finished, I attended to the small bottle.

Then, I usually spend way too long getting the background just right (or close enough).  From here it's just a couple select highlights and fumbling around with the signature to finish her up.

#42. Delphinium and Coreopsis

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August 5th, 2014: Oil on Board, 6" x 6".  No funny titles today, it was hard enough just remembering how to spell delphinium and coreopsis!  I tried a slightly different approach today, and it actually came together somewhat easier than usual.  (Or maybe my new easel really is making me a better painter.)  I think I'm finally getting the hang of yellow too, it seems to be the color I struggle with getting good contrast and bright color at the same time.

Miss Maos, Work in Progress

August 4th, 2014: Oil on Wood, 5" x 7", Work in Progress.  I felt like doing something different today, so I worked on this small piece of one of our little princesses.  I'm not sure what I want to do with the background yet, or if I just want to leave it as is, and I may play around with some glazing on her too.  It already makes me smile every time I look at it.
In other news:  I just got my first real easel!  (I've been using a rudimentary homemade version of a table top easel for years, made out of four strips of wood and propped onto my desk with a rock... I'm not sure why it took me so long to get a real one.)  I'm hoping it will somehow make me a better painter, but this is yet to be discovered.  I'll let you know.

#41. Not So Sweet Peas

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August 2nd, 2014:  Oil on Board, 6" x 6".  Sweet peas are one of my favorite flowers, so after years of trying unsuccessfully to grow the annual kind I found some perennial sweet peas that can survive even the harsh winters here.  Happily, they are growing and flowering quite well.  Unhappily, they do not emit the sweet scent that makes me love the annual sweet peas so... therefore, pretty and hardy but not so sweet.  I painted the flowers over about three times before settling for their current state.  The bobbled (there is probably a more correct term for this) glass vase was a challenge and came out a bit wonky, but I like it anyways.