Fearless Friday, Fearless florals
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
“Friends” Melanie Morris, 6″x 6″ acrylic on canvas
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
“Melanie’s Flowers” by Jenna Meon, 14″ x 14″ acrylic on canvas
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
“Bloom in a Blue Vase” Jenna Meon, 14″ x 18″ acrylic on wood panel
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
🎨 🎨 🎨 🎨 🎨 🎨
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
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[…] This is a painting I did several years ago, mimicking her style, you can see the step by step process here […]
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Sooo beautiful Jenna!!
Amazing artistry talent.
If you have not had a chance would love to have you share on my #OMHGFF Linkup!
Have a great weekend! Happy 4th of July!
Thanks Karren! >
Jenna, I always enjoy Fearless Friday! I love both paintings….how I would love to paint! Enjoy the family and the 4th!
Always enjoy seeing your art work – Happy 4th!
I think water is so hard to do! I need to study this much more carefully!
very bright and bold. Just what I love. You did a fabulous job. I knew the trick of putting paint and brushes in a ziplock, but didn’t know I could spritz water right onto the paints. Makes sense. Thanks! Happy Independence Day to you!
Sure love your fantastic FFs Jenna! I always feel so guilty wasting paint too. Thanks for those tips. I use oils so I mostly put the palette paper in the freezer. Never thought of the brushes too. I am taking a summer abstract class and most students are using acrylics so I’ve had to work on 2 canvases at a time because of the slow drying time of oils. Blending them with cold wax medium does help speed up drying. Keep up the inspiration! LOVE it.
Johanne Lamarche
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Thanks Johanne, I would love to take an abstract class, sounds great but I can see how it would be tricky with oils~ Have fun! >
Love your artwork Jenna! Wishing you a delicious and Happy Fourth.
So awesome Jenna. You are having too much fun! Happy 4th to you.
How very interesting! I love seeing the process. It’s beautiful, Jenna. Happy 4th!
thanks Kim! >
You almost make it sound easy! What talent you have. I know how crazy it gets – that is why I haven’t been posting for a long while! Life just sweeps us away doesn’t it. I am glad you can dedicate a day to painting here and there – you have so much talent!
I love the Bloom in Blue Vase – have it in a pillow cover in my sunroom. It’s always fascinating to me to watch how the end result develops.
Oh thank you Rita, that’s one of my favorite paintings, so glad you’re enjoy it! >
Love your fearless style and one last highlighting the bloom! Doing two paintings at the same time is so smart. In my shed painting projects, I always put my brushes in a ziptop bag until I get back to them 🙂
Jenna, you are so creatives and talented! Thanks for sharing your gifts at Gardens Galore!