finished painting – spring blooms

  Here is my painting completed along with a couple of crops below it:

        Here I`ve started on the background, just working my way on small bits around the foreground elements. There is an evergreen tree behind the lilac plant on the left hand side, so I`ve let some texture form there. Apart from the darker value, this texture is what separates the bg from the fg leaves.

        For the stems and branches, I`ve used perylene maroon with a touch of the dark mix of the leaves. The shadow side will have a darker mix but instead of a straight line, if you make irregular horiontal strokes, it gives the impression of bumps and rough texture of the bark.

             These birds are Feldsperling (German sparrow or Eurasian tree sparrow), they like the country side and feed mostly on seeds.. (but I`ve spotted them many times around Mc Donalds!) Wet on wet washes give these the fluffy appearance. The fence takes a bit of dry brush work after a very pale wet in wet wash of some neutral colors. For the iron nail, use perylene maroon with a bit of yellow and a bit of indigo. With a damp brush lightly bring the color down to make a rust streak.