Preparing for summer - Fuchsia Basket 5x7inch

Fuschsia Basket

palette knife oil painting

5x7inch on gallery wrapped canvas 1.5cm thick

Available for purchase

Over the last week or so, I have been potting up my container plants ready for the late spring and early summer show. We had a few nice, warm days which always spurs me into action. Since then it has got a little colder and today we didn't see the sun at all. I know - I'm spoilt as normally our weather is so good.

As well as container gardening, I've been attempting to clear up my studio and even threw out a lot of earlier (bad!) paintings - I was really proud of myself! Maybe I'll treat myself to this lovely easel I found on pinterest

Looks good doesn't it?

Container Colour garden flowers oil painting

 Container colour

18x24cm (approx 7"x10")

Oil on MDF canvas panel

Started paitning using a brush and finished with a palette knife

 Another painting of my container plants. This one has some lovely coral coloured pelargoniums (trailing geraniums). I wondered how I was going to translate that wonderful colour in paint. After deliberating which red to use, it turned out to be quite simple. With my last order of paints I purchased some Scarlet Lake, a colour I had never used before. When I mixed it with white, the perfect coral hues appeared.

Here are some WIP photos.
Step 1 - I used a red ground, which in hindsight was the wrong choice. Something that contrasted with the coral would have been better and would have made it easier to give the coral colour more pizazz.

I used a thin wash of paint to block in the local colours.

Step 2
More colour and thicker paint added trying to define the lights.

Step 3
In step 3 involved using more of the palette knife and adding more shadow and highlights using thicker paint for the highlights. I also added more breathing space to the upright geraniums and lightened the background. Unfortunately I was so involved in painting I forgot to take a photo.
 
Contact me about this or any other painting HERE

I painted some of my container geraniums last year. See HERE and HERE

Container Glory garden flowers, container flowers WIP

Container glory oil painting

18x24cm (approx 7"x10")

oil on MDF canvas panel

Started using a brush and finished using a palette knife

This painting is for sale in my Etsy shop
or contact me about this or any other painting HERE

Step 1, Loose block in of the local colours using thin paint

 Step 2, starting to define the masses using thicker paint alternating between the brush and knife

Step 3, just using the knife now and thicker paint, looking at the shadows and highlights to get a more 3D effect

I reduced some of the busyness in the top right hand corner and added more highlights and shadows. I also made sure I had more 'breathing space' at the top of the flowers as I felt it was a bit too dense. I also made sure the colours were balanced adding a bit of red to the purples and some purples to the reds.

I painted some of my container geraniums last year. See HERE and HERE

Sunny Geraniums Plein Aire oil painting

 

 Sunny Geraniums oil painting by Marion Hedger

Oil on MDF gessoed board. 18x24cm

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The second of my red geranium plein air paintings. Part of my Garden 101 painting series
Contact me about this or any other painting HERE

Sunny Geranium en plein aire painting in oils

My pots of geraniums are coming along nicely, and who could resist painting them. They give such a splash of colour, it makes me smile when I see them.

 Sunny Geraniums oil painting by Marion Hedger

18x24cm oils on canvas board (MDF)

I painted the board with an underpainting of pink for this one. Not a lot of it shows through in the final painting, but enough to give the red geraniums a sunny glow.

Contact me about this or any other painting HERE