Re-do of "Loose Ends" 6" X 6" Pastel

                                                                     
You may remember awhile back I posted a new pastel titled "Loose Ends." Well, it's been sitting on my shelf where I keep my unframed art, and I've been able to "look" at it for several weeks. I thought today I might change a few things about it to kind of "freshen it up."

I defined the stems a bit more and used a few more warm greens. I also modified the background color to a cooler color, kind of a light turquoise. The shadows had to be changed as they had been drawn with a deep-valued gold color to go with the yellow background. Now, they have a deeper turquoise tint.

Lastly, I added highlights (I had forgotten them completely the first time (Duh!) in a cool, pinkish red. Below, is the original post. I like the updated version better, but in all honesty, how do YOU feel? Your feedback is always welcome!

                                                                                                                                                         

"The Showoff" 6" X 12" Oil on board

                                                                 
On my Bucket List of "things-I-wish-to-do " would be to travel to Europe (France in particular) and see and paint the fields of poppies for which France is so well-known. (Why NOT dream large!) They must be a sight to behold!   And, if there were lavender fields next to the poppy fields, and a winery in the neighborhood, well....

"Gerbera Daisy" Oil on panel SOLD

                                 
After I painted "Night Bloomer" a couple of posts back, a friend suggested I do a series of flowers. I've never done a series before although I've always thought doing so would be a good idea. It seems like it would be a wonderful opportunity to explore technique and possibilities within a specified subject matter.

The direct light on the petals of flowers does so many interesting things as does the reflected light. The different values between the bottom petals, the top petals and the shadows of the top petals on the bottom petals are all different. Just wonderful practice in a subject of your choosing.

After the initial lay-in and the next layers where more detail and texture is added, I stepped back to look at the painting and compare it to the photo. It's not that I'm wanting to have it look just like the photo as I want to add something of "Carol" (me) in there, too. But, it's the best way to check values, I know of. You can really compare this to that...and make corrections which I needed to do in some areas.

I'm looking forward to doing a few more flower paintings then possibly beginning a new series. Thanks for a great idea, Barbara!

This painting will be up for auction beginning Monday, September 10th at: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/carol-flatt-1045