This is a close-up photo of a leaf from a bougainvillea (rather than the colored bracts). What caught my eye was the curve of the edge of leaf, and the curve of the shadow on it.
For a painting, two approaches come to mind. Either simplify down the background, and probably the veins on the leaf too, so your focus is on the curve. Or keep the background 'blobs' of color and reduce the detail on the leaf so the painting is far busier, based on areas of color.
For a painting, two approaches come to mind. Either simplify down the background, and probably the veins on the leaf too, so your focus is on the curve. Or keep the background 'blobs' of color and reduce the detail on the leaf so the painting is far busier, based on areas of color.