Time in my studio is precious these days since I’m often away on the coast. When I have a dedicated painting day, I often work on several things at once
This is a good way to maximize time and materials, if something needs drying time, work on something else for a while, or as in this case put the extra paint to use
When I was Painting Peaches a few weeks ago, after doing the background I ended up with a ton of leftover paint on my palette
Heavy body acrylic paint is quite $$$ so you never want to waste it…
Tip: Keep a spray water bottle near by and spray your palette occasionally to keep your paint wet. You can also loosely cover your palette and place it in the refrigerator to prevent the paint from setting up. Brushes too can be refrigerated in zip lock bags for several days without cleaning
I grabbed another canvas, which had already been prepped with a black gesso underpainting, and began another painting
The photo below, “Friends,” by fellow Birmingham artist, Melanie Morris, was my inspiration
Melanie’s style is fast and loose, and she paints with a palette knife, not brushes
She often uses red for her underpainting, you can see it peaking through on the upper left corner below
The painting pictured above is one of the examples she painted for her workshop called Fast & Furious Florals
I started my painting by laying in the background over the black canvas
Creating a silhouette of the vase and flower forms
Next I added the stems and water
And then the blooms
Building the blooms with fat, quick strokes
I used a large flat square brush for the primary strokes, then switched to a palette knife for the final strokes
Almost done
One last touch
Can you tell what the one last touch was?
The last touch was a white highlight on the center pink bloom, above left
“Friends” by Melanie Morris below left and my “Melanie’s Flowers” below right
Our painting styles are very similar, so I wasn’t surprised how closely our paintings resemble each other. She deserves all the credit however, she composed the still life, broke down the shapes and provided the color palette
My painting below is painted in a similar fast and loose style
Melanie is a master at simplifying shapes and blending color and has helped me learn to be fearless
I have taken 2 of her workshops over the years and she is fun, friendly and helpful to all skill levels. Taking art classes is such a great way to get motivated, try something new, or just dedicate a block of time for painting!
You can visit Melanie here to see more of her stunning work, and to check her class schedule. She teaches workshops all over the Southeast.
Melanie’s next Fast & Furious Floral workshop is Sept. 8-9 in Gainsville GA, you can get more info here
Have fun and Be Fearless!
Bloom in a Blue Vase is available as an art print or on 12 other items in my Society6 Shop here
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I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:
Rustic and Refined, Between Naps on the Porch, Gardens Galore Make it Pretty Monday
Coastal Charm, Cooking and Crafting with J&J, The Scoop, A Stroll Thru Life
Celebrate and Decorate, Lori’s Culinary Creations, Moonlight and Mason Jars