From the Artist: I didn't think I would finish this month's project! The paint is still wet when I submitted this entry. This project was a challenge. I almost gave up until I read an article in one of my artist magazines where an artist wrote that most of her workshop students goal is to create a beautiful painting. She believes the goal should be not the success of the painting but the process. So on that advice I continued on. I do not know what the name of these flowers are but they remind me of big snow balls. I like how the background turned out and I will use this technique in future paintings. I learned I really appreciate brushes!
From the Painting Guide: Your renewed appreciation for brushes alone makes having tackled this project worthwhile. No more taking them and what they can do for granted! But I must say, looking at what you've achieved in this painting with a knife I don't think you should abandon it as a painting tool. The flowers I know that look like these are pink alliums (ornamental onions), and I think you've got a fabulous sense of their texture and delicate nature. Someone looking over my should did say "there are four flowers and three stems", but I think the stem of the back one would be hidden by the front flowers.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: At its essence, this composition is very simple -- a group of four spheres and three stems. So what is it that makes it appealing? Start by tracing the shape of the background, or the negative space around the flowers. The curves and angles in this are varied, making it visually intriguing (even though you probably don't realize it initially when looking at it).
Then look at the arrangement of the flower heads, the large and small spheres, the tone within these. They lead your eye along, through the composition. The background doesn't compete with the subject of the painting, but its suggestion of foliage and suggestion of movement make it interesting to the eye. You don't glance at it once to take it in.
From the Painting Guide: Your renewed appreciation for brushes alone makes having tackled this project worthwhile. No more taking them and what they can do for granted! But I must say, looking at what you've achieved in this painting with a knife I don't think you should abandon it as a painting tool. The flowers I know that look like these are pink alliums (ornamental onions), and I think you've got a fabulous sense of their texture and delicate nature. Someone looking over my should did say "there are four flowers and three stems", but I think the stem of the back one would be hidden by the front flowers.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: At its essence, this composition is very simple -- a group of four spheres and three stems. So what is it that makes it appealing? Start by tracing the shape of the background, or the negative space around the flowers. The curves and angles in this are varied, making it visually intriguing (even though you probably don't realize it initially when looking at it).
Then look at the arrangement of the flower heads, the large and small spheres, the tone within these. They lead your eye along, through the composition. The background doesn't compete with the subject of the painting, but its suggestion of foliage and suggestion of movement make it interesting to the eye. You don't glance at it once to take it in.