Bouquet

24x20 Oil on stretched canvas

Here is the painting that I have been working on the past few weeks.  This is the largest painting I have completed to date. I must admit, I really like working on a larger scale. My wife and I bought this vase of fake flowers about four years ago. I have always wanted to paint it, but was not sure if I was up to the challenge.  Here is a photo of the actual flowers and vase:

I did not draw the flowers and transfer them to the canvas (I should have). Instead, I chose to sketch in the general structure using raw umber.  Although it worked, when I cam to working the small details, I wished I had put the time in up front to really draw the flowers. Here is the underdrawing:

From there I stated generally the background, the wood base, and the vase. Then I started working on the flowers.  Here is a picture of where I stopped:

From there I added more color to the vase and contined adding in the specifics of the flowers. Finally, I finished the base. I must admit, I learned a lot about contrast with this painting. The white flowers do not show up without a dark background.  Overall, I am happy with this one. Comments are welcome.