Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Practicing brushstrokes ...

Yellow Tulip, 8" x 6", Oil on canvas, © 2014, Nancy Van Blaricom

While going through a box of props I found a bouquet of silk tulips that I had stored away. I decided I'd like to use one of them, just one single flower, to practice some brush work.  Thinking about using the whole bouquet just seemed too overwhelming at this time so I cut one tulip and began to paint this lone flower.

Although it wasn't a real flower or a whole bouquet I loved working on this painting.

By using the single tulip I was able to concentrate on how my brush was being loaded & where to place each stroke.  Also I took my time and attempted to look for warm and cool areas, soft and hard areas, contrasts in value - dark/light.

This was such fun to work on I just may be encouraged to see what else is in my prop box in the way of flowers….. maybe.

1 comment:

  1. Simply elegant.
    I enlarged it, and looked to see those strokes and decisions. That was a refreshing experience.
    What I loved best was near the bottom of the stem, there is one stroke of what looks to be Pthalo and just below it, a stroke of rust-orange. Perfect touch!

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