Memories of Portofino

It’s time to do the white flowers in the foreground, my paint is mixed and ready to go. For the shadows I’ve made mixtures of Ultramarine Blue + White and Pthalo Blue + a touch of Hansa Lemon Yellow + White. The pure White is reserved for the highlights. The paint lined up on the left side of my palette is from previous painting sessions. Saving the extra paint makes it very easy to go back to touch up an area or make changes.

The blossoms are blocked in first, then I work the greens of the leaves in and around the individual flowers. When painting white flowers it is very important to make the shadows dark enough so the white highlights will sparkle.

Using the corner of a small Bright brush the centers are drawn in with a combination of Alizarin Crimson + Liquin. I’ve added a few dangling vines for interest.

We took the picture of the Nasturtiums in Pacific Grove, California when we lived there several years ago. It seemed like you could drop a stick on the ground there and it would grow! We’ve been battling the worst drought in the history of our area and even our dry weather plants are looking sad. But that is the joy of being an artist, my flowers on canvas never need watering. OK, back to work. I paint the Nasturtiums with more red than the ones in my reference photo. The painting will hang on a soft yellow wall similar to the buildings in the background. Dottie has accented the room with navy and white curtains and bed cover. The red-orange is the complimentary color of the navy so it will go perfectly and brighten up the room.

Memories of Portofino     48″ x 38″     Original Oil Painting

I decided to add more Gladioli on the left, behind the coral colored Petunias. Dottie loved the idea of a flower filled foreground and it just looked too wimpy with the small clump of Gladioli. Painting this piece has brought back many happy remembrances for Jack and I. Now my collectors will be able to stroll across the ancient stones and sit at the harbor side table, basking in the warmth of their special Memories of Portofino. If you would like to see any of the pictures larger just click on the image. Thank you for following along, I hope you’ve enjoyed watching as much as I’ve had fun painting. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

Would you like to receive an email every time I publish a new post? Just subscribe to my blog, it’s easy. Go to the upper right side of this page. You will see a heading EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS. Just enter your email address and click the button “Sign me up!”  And, for those of you wanting to link my posts to your facebook or blog you have my permission. Just do one favor for Jack and me, Have a Wonderful Day!