This is my first attempt at a 1/2 sheet painting so it’s 15″ wide by 22″ tall. my largest so far have been 1/4 sheet paintings, 11″ x 15″. And no, I didn’t paint all of this today! I started it last week and worked on it more today, so it’s a work in progress. The greens aren’t as sickly yellow as it looks on my screen now, but it’s late and tomorrow’s another day to get a better in progress photo!
century plant in progress
Here’s my reference photo cropped from tons of photos I’ve taken of this plant. I like the lines that move through the photo and the blending of the darks of the spines. I’m quite excited to paint this, but I know I will paint at least another version of this because I”m not happy with my brushstrokes. I realize that because my paper is bigger, I need to use bigger brushes and make bigger puddles of pigment if I want smooth color mingling washes which I do. But at least this one is practice and reaffirming the color values that i need.
The 30 in 30 painting challenge is one that I’ve participated in twice yearly for several years and it is always a fun, challenging and productive month when I do it. Click on the link to see other people’s works that they’ve done today. there are about 1000 artists all over the world participating this time.
Looking good, great tonal values, and an interesting subject, for which I have a love for….can’t get enough of these plants ❤️
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Thank you Rebecca. I am excited to see its progress!
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I don’t have artist language, but I can say that I admire your artistry and that these are aesthetically pleasing! Beautiful!
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Thank you!!! hope the new year started well for you all. Have a great weekend!
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Wonderful! (K)
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Thx Keefe!
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I don’t see the greens as “sickly” – never met a green I didn’t admire. But it is … a different green in the painting compared to your photo. It’s a great composition and challenging I bet, given the scale and the bigger paper. Next you’ll be focusing on a single edge, one sharp spine ala O’Keefe. 🙂
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Oh Diane I certainly did not mean to impugn the character of any green!! LOL thx for the support.
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Of course, I love this. It already has such a great textural look to it. I guess your greens, as compared to the photo, have a bit more yellow to them, but I just think it makes the contrast more significant. Having said that, I do love the blue/grays of so many desert plants.
I always love your work, Rachel. Thanks for sharing so generously.
/s
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Oh Sue, thank you! i really appreciate the support. I took a picture right now and it looks much truer to color. I will post it later on, but I have to paint first today!
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