gift for mom

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.

I had taken this picture in my front garden and uploaded it to Instagram.  I thought it would be a nice image to paint for her.  I like the composition.  I like the enhancement I added in Instagram.  And, it's a flower and the slight texture of the pedals lends itself to my style of painting using the texture mediums.

I started off by laying down the pedals with Golden Brand fiber paste.  I like that the Golden Brand dries matte and retains the white color.  Once dry, I added some background color, taking care to add the hints of red that are in the some of the negative space areas.  

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.

watercolor over the pedals

Liquitex blended fibers and a cake decorating tip were used to create the pistils.

Trying to capture the height of the texture medium. It's not easy.

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.  

"Garden Flower", Acrylic, Watercolor, and Texture Mediums on Canvas, 6"X6", March 2015.