Aurora

Aurora




Painting this beautiful peony was a three week process.  It was long but so worth the effort.  There is an almost musical movement to the petals and the colors reflect the early morning hues of the mythological goddess it was named after.  It is a 24' x 24" oil painting on a deep gallery wrapped canvas.

It all started with a drawing.



Many artists draw directly on their canvas but I erase and change so many features that I just can't.  Once I have it down to what I think is the final drawing, I establish a tight grid to then draw onto the canvas.  I said "think" because once I start painting I often make changes again to the composition, changing directions of the petals, adding some and deleting others.

Next is the first pass to sort of establish the darks.


At this point, I'm probably questioning all of my decisions.  Composition, color, where exactly am I going with this?  I guess I'll soon find out.

Because I am going to be carrying the painting around to the sides, I have it attached to a large piece of cardboard.  This way I can reach the sides easily and move the painting without touching any part of the canvas itself.

By the fourth pass, I am finally seeing something I like.  Yay!  I hate to admit this, but I second guess myself on every step of the way when I am painting.  I have spent days and days at the easel and I wonder if I should just chuck it and start over and then all of a sudden, like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, this amazing transformation starts to take place.




And finally after working with highlights on two more passes, time for the big reveal and I love it!
  Aurora is available and offered for purchase at 
www.TexasGalGallery.com.




Thanks for following along.  I hope you like it.
Jo

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