On my easel right now is one of my favorite subjects - white azaleas. It's been on my easel since before my week-long vacation and yet the paint fairy still hasn't finished painting it. Must I do everything?? :)
Below is a photo I took that inspired a white azalea painting that did get finished. One of the things I enjoy with these large blossoms is the "negative" space that is formed around the azaleas. In this photo I was drawn to the shapes made by the two flowers at the lower right.
I chose a square canvas because it allowed me to crop the image in a way that emphasized the blossoms and the interesting shapes that surrounded them.
In my painting, I stayed faithful to the composition of the cropped photograph because it had a wonderful drama to it. Where I diverged was in my palette, allowing the glow of nearby colors to spill through the translucent petals with more intensity than the camera captured. The subtle color shifts are what give these white flowers such a soft feel.
Azalea Glow II, Sold
20x20 Oil
Now back to the blossoms on my easel....
Gorgeous photo and painting. Your description of yourself looking to capture sunlit moments in their transformative beauty is exactly what draws me to photography...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sheila! That means a lot to me from someone whose photographs capture such amazing peace and joy.
DeleteI too love azalea flowers. You sure captured the essence even the aroma, my nose just tickled. I am so glad I went over to read your blog on this painting. In fact, I got sidetracked in looking at your entire blog and I loved each and everyone of your paintings!
DeleteGood read
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