taking risks with color

This painting was an experiment in color mixing and taking risks with color. The only two criteria being: choose colors from items in your environment to work on mimicking colors (color mixing), and take risks by using colors you'd normally shy away from. I chose to use several colors from this adorable notebook I have. I love the combination of color, but I wouldn't think to use this combination on my own. I also totally love the crazy flower design on the cover so I decided to use it as inspiration. I didn't attempt to do an exact match, but it's fairly close.

This was my first detailed painting, and my goodness was I surprised to learn how long it actually takes to complete a piece like this! Even with my trusty heat tool to help along the drying between layers, it still took a few 4-hour sessions to complete. I admit, I sort of abandoned it in the end. Some of the details I intended to put into it were left out, and there are parts of it I would've painted over and done again if I had the time. But, alas, my hours are limited and my energy level has been subpar lately.

All and all, I really enjoyed taking risks with color and pushing through what felt like an ugly combination quite often during the painting process. It was also great practice in detail work, which has opened me up to doing more of it. I tend toward wanting to feel uninhibited and free-flowing while I paint, getting the canvas wet and messy and deviating from my "plan" or sketch a lot. Since pieces like this one make me feel contained and like I can't be messy and unplanned I didn't think I'd enjoy it, but it was satisfying in a different way. I think I'll pursue it a bit more given I have been sketching nothing but "designs" for the past 15 years....it sort of makes sense to put some of those on canvas. It just takes more patience and time than I have available most of the time.

More paintings to come.....