Sunflowers 6 painting #60

   Tried the larger brush again, and found it to be MOST challenging.   I'm gonna keep at it, til I figure it out !  Tenacious or just Stubborn,  I don't know, ha ha !

Sunflowers 5 painting #59

     Trying for more SHAPE, and less LINE this morning.  Trying to get in the groove with these beautiful specimens !  I had to stick cut-off hanger wires into the stems to get them to stand up.... after one day they are soooooo droopy !

sunflowers 4 painting #58

 

Using bigger brushes.... gotta keep trying this... it should help me get softer edges.....and NOT BE so tight ! ha !

Sunflowers 3 painting #57

 

Here's a 50 minute study.... Trying to use larger brushes, hard to get detail..... maybe that's the key ??

Sunflowers painting #56

 

The last batch of sunflowers 'expired' before I had a chance to paint them.... how sad.  These are from the Tower Grove farmer's market yesterday, and I was bound and determined to get them onto the canvas (gessobord, really) before they bit the dust.  The market has incredible community support.  It offers music by a local radio station, who provides a band.  Load of interested people with their dogs, children, and a total eclectic flavor... as well as wonderful local produce, specially made meats, free-range eggs, and lots of great stuff !

Exercise with Composition... not timed

   Rule of thirds:  
     Imagine your picture plane divided into thirds in both directions.  Focal point for the composition, ideally, could be at any point of the intersecting lines.     Composition is more pleasing with the focal point off center, and never directly in the center of the image.  This creates asymmetrical balance, rather than formal balance, and is more pleasing to the eye.  

Just leave the impression of your subject.... Tell a story...My hubby actually came to get this, while I was painting it... Lunchtime.  He did bring it back, though !!

3 timed apples... 10 minutes each.... reviewing what I've learned from Carol Marine, and others..... Sort of . 'back to the ole drawing board' ha ha ha

Taking a day to redo some of the exercises that need to be reviewed..... timed paintings are a good way to keep fresh, use larger brushes, make quicker decisions about shape and value, and not get too "fussy" with the images... starting with very simple subjects is best..    I've decided to do this for awhile, so I can reinforce some of the things I've learned along the way......

Juice glass with gerbera daisy Painting #55

 

   Love this little glass.  I found it in Alabama, too, at a different antique shop.  I passed up the identical one in blue.... Boy !, Now I wish I had bought that one, too..... such is life