Purple and White Mum by Sheila Lunan

Photo © Sheila Lunan

"Purple and White Mum" by Sheila Lunan. Left: 4x4"/10x10cm oil. Right: 10x10"/25x25cm pastel.

From the Artist: I had a difficult time keeping my white "clean" in my oil painting. It wanted to become pale purple. Next time I would wait for the paint to dry.

I succeeded better with the pastel in getting the white placed, but it doesn't look like much in my opinion. Frustrating but fun!

From the Painting Guide: Delighted to hear you had fun (double the fun perhaps as you worked in two mediums?).

Things to Consider When Looking at These Painting:s
Pastel: I feel your pastel flower is overwhelmed by the rest of the paper and background. Make two L-shapes with your hands (like this) and hold them over the painting to crop off the excess, creating a composition which allows the flower to dominate the space. I'd probably opt for a tall, thin composition, cutting off most of the left- and right-hand sides.

The flower itself is nicely done, with the purple-blue at the edges of the petals giving a sense of depth and shadow. The glass, however, is floating. Add a few horizontal marks to anchor it to a surface and fill in the gaps between the pastel and the edge of the glass.

Oil: I think that if you had retained the purity of your white, rather than it going pale purple, the white would look too stark against the darker petals. But if you feel it isn't white enough, wait until it's dry then add a little white to each petal (paying attention to where the shadows are). Also take another look at the color of the petals right against the center of the flower, it may be this does want to be whiter.

Compare how much of the total area of the painting the flower takes up and how much is background. In terms of this project's objectives, to paint a "Portrait of a Flower", I think the flower itself wants to take up the majority of the area.