20th September Poppy canvas nearly there


I've got a bit more to do to this canvas but it's coming along. It's 18 inches square on gallery wrap canvas.

It's based on sketches I did of the centres of oriental poppies. The bottom petal has fallen off - which isn't very clear yet and the image is a bit blurred as it was taken in a very gloomy room using flash.

The small patches of deep blue green in the background aren't showing up in this photo. When it's finished I'll photograph it in natural light.

The centres of oriental poppies are so dramatic, with the deep dark purples reflecting electric blues as they catch the light and the petal colours so vibrant. I'll probably work on a much larger canvas later, abstracting from this one. I'll be working on the contrasts - more orange and light catching the petals, pushing the fallen petal back a bit and bringing out those electric highlights.

I'm convalescing from a small op on my foot at the moment, so can't stand to paint, I have to keep sitting with it raised. Maybe in a day or so I'll get it finished.

There are a couple of others underway but not quite this far on.

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