I tried to paint a gardenia to see if I could get that thick paint texture look. For a twist, I used only white acrylic latex on a blade to hash out the image first, then I added color.
I learned a lot about how to handle the latex on a blade with this 24″ x 36″ canvas. I will likely try it again at this size or bigger and maybe with a face versus a flower.
For the first round of painting, I used only three colors – white, Prussian blue and basic green. Here I am trying to establish an overall balance of light and dark over the texture.
For the second round of painting, I only use titanium white on the flower. The background has three coats blue and green plus some gloss.
The idea was to have more green on the left hand side originating from the light source but all the layering made it come in darker than I wanted (lesson learned).
Painting completed, time to hang!
I really like how this painting seems to change depending on the amount and direction of light in the room. Even the colors in the background come out when the is enough light.
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