I have been meaning to paint something for my mom for who knows how long. The last time I made something for her was almost 12 years ago...as a freshman at UT. I made a charcoal drawing of my dad for her. I had just learned to do portraits. I had hoped to get something done in time for her birthday, but stuff happens, and I didn't. Spring break rolled around, and I finally had some time to create something small for her.
From there I considered my options for painting the pedals. I wanted the softness I could achieve by using watercolor over the texture medium, but I also wanted to make sure I could bring out some of the bright white found in the photo. I did a combination of the two. I mixed a greyed blue for the shadows on the pedals. I had watered down some white acrylic to add some highlights. I was pleased, so I moved on to adding the pistils using Liquitex Blended Fibers medium. I was impatient and wanted the medium to dry so I could add color, but, I stayed strong and gave it time. I thought the painting was complete, but after staring at it and comparing it to the photos, I though it could use a bit more white. So, I lightly went over the pedals with some straight acrylic paint and I punched up the white. I was super happy. All it needed was to have the edges painted black and my signature.
A few final thoughts on this painting. If you haven't noticed, I tend to work large. This piece is 6"X6". Not large. In fact, it's quite small. It was weird to work so small, but something about it was relaxing. I am not sure if I will work this small again. Perhaps occasionally, but I don't see it becoming a regular thing. I am a bit nervous to send it on to my mom. As I stated earlier, I haven't made anything for her in over 10 years. And, she has never seen my painting work, ever. It is something I started to really get into over the past few years. I hope she likes it.
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