Roses abstracted

Process shots of roses. I’m stretching to take it beyond realism. Thanks to an on line class with Scott Conary, he describes being able to allow my response to their beauty, their movement, their gesture be what guides my focus.  Some things in this piece are satisfying to me and some feel not quite right. Or not quite what I’m looking for. 

To let go of reality a little bit. It’s tough to know which parts to hang onto. I’m on this road, not sure what I’ll find next. 

Spring flower still life paintings.

2 new paintings and some process photos. 

Roses

Done in 2 sessions- I started with a quick rough block in from the still life and was able today to finish from the reference photo also using the vase still sitting with the stems in it. The flowers had fallen. 

The glass reflections of the vase and the dynamic diagonal lines of the stems and leaves drew me to capture this in paint. Also the asymetrical set up - the fullnes on the left of the solid vertical vase contrasting with the light capturing flower hanging over on the right. 

Poppies

Spread throughout last week ,these 4 sessions - I worked on some of my favorite flowers. I was mainly concerned with the values- showing the light coming through the petals & trying to bring the bud forward. 

Tea and oranges

This stilllife has taken a week- just because of limited studio time. The silver teapot wasn’t included initially- but I think it added some zing- which I wasn’t feeling with the painting before. 

Flying oranges

These have been in process for several weeks. I’ve learned a lot - some new ways of applying the paint. The fruit seemed to either dry up or mold within a couple days, and my studio time is limited- so I resorted to photos for my source. 










The first layer is very loose- and heavy enough to let me scrape it with a squeegy coated with a stand oil/ turp mixture. It gains a nice surface sheen. 








There’s a lot to think about- needing to either let the technique itself be in charge and learn how to work within that- or learn how to control it. Or maybe use it in bits or selectively.  The overlapping, lost edges, squishiness results of not being in control are a big part of the appeal to me. 

A full day in the studio

So glad to be able to paint all day today. This painting is from about 2 months earlier- I wasn’t able to finish it- and wasn’t happy with the color palette. So I sanded it all over- enough to take down the thick areas- and give a pretty uniform surface texture. 
 I decided to use warmer colors for the table top and background. Raw umber with cad red for the background and yellow ochre with some cad red, black, white for the table top. 

I changed the one smaller grape leaf on the left - it wasn’t a good compositional element. When it’s had s chance to dry a day or 2- I’ll be able to finish up the details in the glass and the grapes.