Old Dog, Old Tricks

The next flower painting that had back light shining through the leaves and petals, I chose to use a watercolor technique that I know very well. My subject was yellow daisies, so I painted the whole canvas the yellow I wanted for the main color of the flowers. The next step is to paint everything else that isn't flower petals and leave that yellow basically untouched for the flowers.

It worked really well. I got that nice sheer glow that I wanted and not that heavy dull color that can happen when white is mixed into a color to lighten it. Jeff laughed when he saw that painting and said "you have made an oil painting look like a watercolor!" He suggested that I add a little more weight to the rocks because they did look a bit too sheer like the flowers. Since the rocks were reflecting light and not having light shine through them, this was good advice.

I was glad to learn that I could bring some of my old watercolor skills to this new style of painting. This change also helped me to finish the painting faster than the pansy, i.e. ten hours instead of fourteen and a half. This is very encouraging to me.

Speaking of encouraging, I would like to thank Kathy for lifting my spirits on a tough day and for her interest in the little fox painting. Most of this battle for a change in my life is in my mind. I knew it would be, but it is wonderful to get reinforcements from outside now and then!

Jeff's Corner: "Sit, Ubu, Sit (Woof!) Good Dog..."