Having learned from day 1 that I could not coax a full range of color out of red, black, white, and yellow, I set myself up for success by choosing a subject that is already those colors. I sat in the garden observing when it was overcast and blending when it was sunny and I had to put on sunglasses. I am not trying to learn a new palette with a gray filter intermittently over my eyes.
Lovely, vibrant, healthy succulents!
I really tried to capture the little edge highlight on each leaf. I had to paste it on thick to keep it from blending with the underlying color. Because in life it is so thin it might be something to add later with a little rigging brush, but then how do I keep track of where those highlights go? I also found it difficult to put in black shadows. I would apply the black, and doing so would blend it into the burgundy, making it disappear. I think the most successful part of this painting is the background. I did not invent it but copied it as best I could from life. The bluish gray of the wall, the light toned brown of the dirt in the background, the shaded red lip of the terra cotta, and the business of the soil in the foreground.
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