Sunflowers and Apples {a new still life}

Sunflowers and Apples
{24" x 18" (61 x 45.7 cm) – Oil on Linen}

Hello,

I wanted to stop in and share a recently completed painting, it actually was completed a little over a week ago however I had a bit of difficulty in getting a decent photo of it.

With the recent high temperature days in the DC area I have been forced to stay inside and paint in my studio versus getting out to paint en plein air, the good thing about this is that this painting was completed and work on another still was begun.

With this painting I decided to apply some of the skills of fine brushwork that I learned while copying de Heem's Vase of Flowers and also applying some of the more loose brushstrokes I have been getting comfortable with because of the plein air studies completed last month and this month. I tried to integrate both techniques, this was helped by working on a very smooth linen canvas and then applying several layers of paint to build up texture and tooth for subsequent paint applications. I think there are some areas that have as many as 10 or more layers of paint, with varying thicknesses, typically the last layer was the most impasto because I was also trying to keep in mind the "fat over lean" rule when working in oil paint.

Have a great evening, and tomorrow I will share with you the new work in progress still life that is on the easel.

Liz