WIP: Still Life with Amaryllis and Pomegranates, 24 x 30 inches

Still Life with Amaryllis and Pomegranates

This is a painting where the idea of its basic composition was established in late 2014. I had worked on a vertical configuration of this compositional idea in November 2014, but in December 2014 I came down with pneumonia and let the original painting get put aside. Also the orchid that had been a part of the original composition had lost all its flowers. Then as the New Year (2015) came into being, all of my various amaryllis bulbs began to bloom. And with the blooming of my “apple blossom” amaryllis, I decided to revisit the composition. In assessing the original painting, I decided to change to orientation from vertical to horizontal.

After the initial block-in of the painting, I decided to focus on painting the amaryllis bloom. The other areas of the painting would last, while the flowers needed my immediate attention. As I have shared before, I prefer painting from life, even if this puts me under a bit more pressure in the race of completing the floral sections before they wilt and die. So on the first full day I had in the studio I dove in.

In fact, I worked on the amaryllis bloom for the time that Naomi was in preschool, typically I get 2-3 hours in the studio during this time and I had to stop mid-day to pick her up and deliver her to the babysitter so I could have the rest of the afternoon to paint. When I returned, I was able to look at my progress and setup with clear eyes. In analyzing what I had accomplished that morning and how it affected the composition, it came to me, that the painting would display the amaryllis bloom best if I turned the flower 180-degrees. So I scraped down what I had laid-in that morning and began again.

{the amaryllis bloom in its first position}

{the amaryllis bloom in its second and final position, with my initial colors laid down}

{the amaryllis bloom with some of its surrounding background}

One of the truths of being an artist I hold is it never hurts to scrape down and begin again. Invariably the next go-round will be better and come more easily than the previous try, and I will feel better about the final outcome of the painting.

After revising the orientation of the flowers, I worked on areas of the painting choosing to jump around depending on the amount of uninterrupted studio time I had to dedicate.

Here are some detail images of the final painting:

...................................................................... Framed Painting {24" x 30" – oil on linen} ......................................................................