Statice Quo

The day started as cool and foggy.  The Statice were blooming more than I can remember.  They commanded the stage this morning.

I have painted this scene so many times but I still did a quick sketch to get the composition right.  The size of the board makes it tricky to get all the elements into the painting.

I am continuing to experiment with different colors.  I have added about 10 colors to my pallet.  I am working to create a brighter more vibrant range of colors.

This painting started differently than a lot of my other paintings.  Instead of drawing or covering the board with washes, I ended taking a mosaic approach.  The strength of the colors in the Statice suggested this treatment.  This was an unintended process.  What I mean to say is that it was not a conscious decision.  

As with many of my paintings, being open to suggestion leads to a more unique perspective and handling of the composition.

Covering the surface with this approach is more time consuming.  One of the challenges when painting this way is to not lose the shapes within the mosaic.  

Another challenge is to maintain the integrity of the values as the painting progresses.  Blending the colors within the mosaic too early could result in mud soup.

Bringing the foreground forward through color and value became important to me at this point in the painting.  It was critical to get the relationships between the foreground and the rest of the painting correct before I moved onto anything else.

It had been sunny for a while, but there was still an atmospheric haze  that I wanted to convey within the painting.

Here I am pulling everything together.  All of the hard work has been done and the painting is about staying on track.

There is always that moment when I feel compelled to drive to the finish.  Everything speeds up to get to the finish line.

Here is when I look to tie up all the loose ends.  Clean up the rough spots, complete any unfinished thoughts, and finalize the highlights.

The last thing I do is touch up any spots, step back and evaluate, and to sign it.

Finished.

What does it look like in direct light?

The day has completely changed during the course of the painting.

The finished painting Statice Quo.  24x30 plein air oil on board

The value shot

The detail shot.