9" X 12" oil painting on stretched canvas
I was inspired by my first trip to the Edwards Greenhouse in Boise. At first I was overwhelmed by all the flowers, but I saw other artists there so I decided to set up with my little pochade box. I think I forgot all my art lessons and tried to put too much in the painting (see bottom photo). When I got home I was disappointed with my "plein air" attempt, but determined to keep learning. I tried again with just a few of the trumpet flowers (below) but felt they were too flat. Then I added more color and took an old toothbrush to spatter some cobalt blue over the painting to give it some interest. I had not tried this in oil paint before, but had used this technique in watercolors. I'm happier with the result now. This is the first time I have used "permanent rose" as a background. I was thinking about the expressionist painters and decided to go a little wild. :)
Attempting to put too much on the small canvas instead of just focusing on one or two blossoms.
