Saturday, February 13, 2016

Night Bloomer 9" X 12" Pastel on panel

                         














                  Version 1                                                                                Version 2       

                             We have several plants in the area called Night Bloomers.
In the Spring these cacti come alive and send out huge buds. The blossoms are also HUGE, sometimes 9 to 10 inches across. They come in orange, white, and pink from pale to vivid. 

They got their name because they do bloom at night at least to start.
My neighbors wait patiently for this to happen
ready with their cameras.

The problem is these lovely blossoms last mostly for only one day or at the most, two.
So you have to be ready when they come!

I may go back in and change the shadows to a more solemn color
and perhaps delete the shadows in the background altogether. 
Although the reference photo had them where they are and 
almost that shade of
blue, I'm thinking it's a bit much.
I'll live with it for awhile and see.

FOLLOW UP 
As you can tell by Version 2 above I did go in the next day and edit the painting.
I think the intensity of the original blue overwhelmed me
a bit so I grayed it down and changed the shape a little. Blue is my favorite color,
but I think the version I originally had detracted from the plant itself.
The upper shadows were deleted
as I thought they were "shouting" and took away from the plant
as a whole.

18 comments:

  1. WOW! - you managed to capture the size of these amazing blooms, Carol. Well done!
    I tried to paint them previously and I couldn't get the scale. I think it was genius to place in the full cactus part. I cropped and just caught the corner so nothing to compare to.
    Love the idea of placing shadows in also. The intense color you mentioned not being sure about...Is this still an influence of C. Cozen's work? I visited the webpage and enjoyed seeing the work.

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    1. Thank you for your comment, Julie. Glad you looked at Chris' work. Many of her pieces have such gorgeous color and clever texture methods.As you can see I did do another version, and I feel calmer with the grayed down blue and fewer shadows. Thanks for commenting.

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    2. I think you made a good decision on the intensity of the lower shadows. The removal of the top lines of shadow certainly made the blooms stand out. Added more depth behind them too.
      Thanks for sharing this with us.

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  2. I've never seen this plant before. So beautiful, Carol. I would love to see these in white and pink as well. The shadows are perfect, especially in the blues....nicely done!!!!!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Hilda! I hadn't seen one either until I moved here. Our Sonoran desert is a bit warmer than the desert we used to live in so I guess this species of cacti does better. As you can see I still do have blue-ish shadows, but I toned them down a bit.I hope this lets the plant speak instead of the shadows. What do you think?

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  3. Carol,

    It's a really dynamic composition with those shadows and tall view of the cactus. The ideas in editing you are mentioning are some of the ones that I have the most trouble with at times. Your results are lovely though and "sitting" with them for awhile would be no trouble at all:)

    Libby

    PS-Did you use oil or pastels this time?

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    Replies
    1. This is soft pastel, Libby. Clair took the photo, and I felt it had to be painted. It was serendipity that Julie posted on her blog her solution to the problem I was having. How often does that happen?!

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    2. Carol-

      I see just what you mean. The composition is very strong now in a good way! I have heard that "screaming" many times:)
      Libby

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  4. What a beautiful work Carol. I also had this cactus a few years ago, and like your neighbors I was ready with the camera , when the flowers were about to open :-) I like the way you painted the shadow, the special shade of blu really enhances the flower.

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    Replies
    1. Oh, thank you, dear Jane! You always write the most uplifting comments! I don't blame you for being ready with your camera! It is quite an annual event here. Even the newspaper reporters come and take photos! I liked that blue, too, Jane, but I modified it so it wasn't quite so bold. Its still blue, though; just not so much!

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  5. Once again a wonderful example of shape and color. I really like the way you cropped this so that the long element of the cactus doesn't overwhelm the great flowers. I think the color is so nice either way. Lovely painting!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Mary. You bring up an interesting point. My husband actually did the crop when he took the photo, and I liked what he did. I can see where too much stalk of the cactus would take away from the size and details of the flowers. I will hang onto that little gem of wisdom!

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  6. Carol, version 2 does allow the flowers to sing and sing they do! Beautifully formed. Such a nice painting......glad you stuck in there!

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  7. I think so, too, Helen. What was I thinking with those three lines across the top!? Actually, in reality they were shadows of a nearby ocotillo. But, the way I first did them didn't work at all. I just couldn't "see" it at first. Thank you for commenting.

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  8. Dear Carol - what a beautiful painting. Such lovely flowers. Loved both versions but think you did well with changing the shadows a bit. Your fine eye just knew what was needed. Hope your Valentine's Day was lovely. Take care and have a great week. Hugs!

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    1. You, too, Debbie, and thank you for your kind comments. Night Bloomer flowers are really amazing! Their size is unexpected, and their whole cycle from bud to bloom to being gone is so fragile and quick. One has such a brief time to enjoy them.

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  9. Gorgeous painting and great subject matter, I agree with your decision to tone down the shadow and get rid of the upper ones, they were a little distracting. It's good to look at a painting with fresh eyes and what isn't quite right will be more obvious.

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    1. Very true, Diana. Letting the painting sit for a day or so was very helpful. I could see it in different lights, and it was quite obvious that on the original version the blue was too intense and those diagonal lines were VERY distracting. We live and learn, don't we?! Thank you for writing!

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