Wrapping up a still life

Lately this still life has demanded my attention.  This is a 20 x 24 oil on hardboard.  It is very wet and the photograph is showing some glare.    Now it needs to sit and dry for a week and then I will know if it is a finished painting.

Yellow pepper

Look what was in the vegetable drawer waiting to be painted.   Yellow and orange such warm colors.  We long for those warm days to return after this arctic winter.  Maybe next week?

Crocus

Sold

The first day of spring and no sign of crocus.  These were photographed last spring and never made it to the easel.   We rolled right into summer and lost the window of opportunity to paint them.   The lilac/blue flowers look great as they pop up through the leaves.   We can rejoice when they start appearing.

What happened

Available

We were pretending that spring is on it's way and had a barbecue with yummy ribs.   My job was to make potato salad only the crime scene caught my eye and delayed the process.

This quote might have influenced me.

“A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light.” Leonardo da Vinci.  

Purple power

Sold

The finished painting after my return.  

This plant has been living with me for about a decade without ever blooming. If the purple ceramic pot wasn't so cute the plant would have been garbage material long ago.  It must like all this snow and extreme cold.  It is so beautiful the colors are amazing.

 

Working color and value

More color variations and values are added.  I could have done more to this layer however something came up, my 7 day cruise.  So off I went.

Drawing with paint

This is the beginning of Purple Power.  I used the paint to draw and lay down some values.  This approach is useful for detail.  With flowers the colors look more intense with layers of oil paint.