Friday, January 27, 2012

Stopping in an interesting place ...


Oak Tree and Daffodils • ©2012 by Karen Mathison Schmidt
6 x 6 inches • oil on archival, museum quality Gessobord
gloss varnish for UV protection • unframed

$95   PURCHASE FROM MY eBAY STORE

I racked my brain trying to come up with a less literal title for this, but finally decided to let the painting speak for itself. So, Oak Tree and Daffodils it is!

When I started this painting a couple of days ago, the daffodil leaves had just shot up everywhere, but no sign of blossoms. Today, after a couple of stormy, rainy days there are yellow buds just coming open everywhere ... in a couple more days these beauties will be busting out all over!

Here are the work-in-progress photos:


First, the underpainting in acrylic glazes of fuschia, 
cadmium yellow light, phthalo blue.


Next, I start to add the oil colors, leaving generous gaps 
for those bright undercolors to show through.


Here it is, almost finished ... I just need to add the foreground daffodil blossoms.

I love the effect of adding in a few random little suggestive dots indicating single flowers apart from the little groups ... I was having so much fun doing it I really had to make an effort to make them look totally random and not to overdo it.


And ... the finished painting. I was having so much fun with this one that I kind of had to remind myself to coast to a stop, keeping in mind that Paul Gardner quote, “A painting is never finished - it just stops in interesting places.”

3 comments:

Elizabeth McCrindle said...

Love this one...we don't have even a peek of leaves let alone daffs but it is definately longer light so shouldn't be long....

Karen M Schmidt said...

Thanks, Elizabeth, I love these heirlooms that come back year after year ... They're getting really thick in places; I think I'm going to have to do some dividing of bulbs this summer. :)

Virginia Floyd said...

I think the title of your painting should be "Stopping in an interesting place". That's what I thought it was until I finished reading your post.

You stopped at the perfect place, Karen. Every time I see one of your paintings I think I wish I could paint like that. I love all the layers of colors! Wonderful!