From Photograph To Canvas..Sort Of

Yellow Pansy Study 1, 6x6, Oil on canvas, Click to Bid

This pansy painting was done from a photograph and I had to pick and choose which blooms I wanted to use and where to place them.

Pansies (at least the ones I have) tend to bloom in little bursts of color that are scattered willy-nilly so in order to create any kind of composition I had to do a little layering. Sometimes it gets a little confusing when I'm looking at a photo with a ton of blooms to find the particular bloom I wanted in which particular spot on my canvas.

I'm liking these little color spots though. Fun to paint; fun to see all lined up, drying on my auction table! :)

Purple Pansy Study 1

Purple Pansy Study 1, 6x6 Oil on Canvas, Click to Bid

Round one of purple pansies. It's a pink purple but it's definitely purple. Adjusting the values has been a real challenge but worth pursuing.

There are, in fact, shadows but there are also delicate mutations of color on the petals so I was teetering between technical accuracy and overall effect. What I really want is an overall effect so from across the room the painting has character. I like looking at this one lined up next to the others. I'm able to see the sun catch the tops and edges of the petals.

Effect wins over realism in my studio. :)

White Pansy Study 2, 6x6, ​Round two of my white pansies. 

​Round two of my white pansies.  Another white pansy but different flower entirely.  The center color spot on this flower was much bigger and bolder.

As for the process, I cooled the shadows and backed off on the values a little - which goes against my instincts.   I'm still exploring and have a few other pansy colors to look at.

Dont Be A Pansy

White Pansy Study 1, 6x6, Click to Bid

So I'm moving on to pansies now and exploring edges, values and brushwork along with color temperature.

I just bought a few 4 inch pots to work from as well as some old photo references I have but some of the photos are lacking in the strong light / shadow that I like to work with so I find myself enhancing and embellishing once again.  But I guess that's what it's all about anyway.  If I wanted a perfect copy I'd stick to taking pictures, right?

A Seasons Greeting #2

A Seasons Greeting #2, 8x10,SOLD

A remake of a sold painting. Every once in a while I get a chance to do a special request. This is one of them. I love that.  :)

It's All Over But The Shoutin'

Yellow Rose Study 3, 8x8, Oil on Canvas, Click to Bid

With this study I wanted to explore a warmer and more intense background and foreground with the yellow roses. I really love the pop on this small study. However....

'Is it appropriate for the gallery piece I have in mind?' is the question at hand. I sends a completely different message than the previous two. It feels a little louder, bolder. And of course with the dark background it feels a little more mysterious to me. 

And that's my reason for doing these little pieces. Sure, instant gratification (well, some more instant than others) and hopefully a little pocket change to pad my art supply account but by and large I find it immensely helpful to work out these questions on small studies than to discover issues and make changes on larger, more complex pieces. Changing an entire background color after it's in (or even partially in) is ridiculously frustrating- voice of experience. I like a challenge, but when the scale tips to frustration it starts to show in the piece and then it's all over but the shoutin'.