California Poppies are planted in the pot by the sunflowers. The happy little flowers are painted with shades of Cadmium Red Light + Cadmium Orange. The blue-gray foliage is made of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Orange + White. To see any of the pictures larger you can click on the image.
The painting is going to hang on a soft blue-gray wall. Fern and David asked if I could include some flowers that would pick up that color. No problem, white Lilies will be perfect. The shadow colors range from lavender mixed from Dioxazine Purple + White to blue made of Ultramarine Blue + White. The jumble of lavender and blue will go well with the wall. I’ve also used some of the soft blue-gray color throughout the painting, especially in the boats and sails. Warm green leaves, Ultramarine Blue + Cadmium Yellow Medium + White, are worked in and around the blossom color shaping the individual flowers. Pure White is used to highlight the petals kissed by the sun.
Now to the cobblestones. I’ve been saving my paint to mix into colors for the ancient stones. A range of warm and cool browns are made. Some of the blue and lavender from the White Lilies will be used in the floor. The peach colors to the far right are for the tablecloth.
The basic light and shadow pattern is blocked in with choppy strokes. The floor is made cooler, or bluer, toward the back at the base of the wall so it will recede. Cool colors go back, Warm colors come forward. I will make the distant edge of the foreground shadow cooler so it will fall back.
The perspective lines separating the stones are indicated with a #2 Bright brush. My goal is to give the impression of cobblestones instead of delineating each and every individual rock.
I’ve often been asked, “When do you sign your paintings?” My response is usually, “When the floor is done!” I like to sign the piece when the area is wet, it’s much easier to make the fine lines smooth. If I waited until the paint was drier the strokes of my signature would be bumpy and irregular. This holds true where ever I place my signature, be it in the leaves of a plant or on the beach of an seascape.
The tablecloth is basically the same peachy color as some of the buildings along the harbor’s edge. The color is mixed with various combinations of Cadmium Red Light + Cadmium Orange + MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + White. The cloth on the flat surface of the table top is lighter because it catches light from the sky. The sides of the cloth draped over the edge receive less illumination from above, therefore they are darker. Have a wonderful day and hope to see you tomorrow. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik
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