Slipper Orchid oil painting

Slipper Orchid painting by Marion Hedger

40x40cm (16"x16") on black gessoed box canvas

This was painted in response to the wetcanvas.com floral forum monthly challenge. I used my own reference taken at Montreal Botanical Gardens a couple of years ago. I used a blending technique where I placed the paint onto the canvas and then used a soft brush to blend that paint together. It was painted alla prima apart from the 'spots' which were added once it was fairly dryish.
Here are some Work in Progress pics

Gridding and outline drawing - no details at this stage

 Underpainting in acrylics - lights using warm colours and shadows using cool colours. This acts as a guide for the highlights and shadows

Starting on applying the oil paint

Close-up of the paint before blending

After this stage I used a soft brush to blend the paint. Sometimes adding more paint if needed. I stopped taking photos as I got so caught up in the painting process.
I used very little pure white until the final highlights, but added a small amount of yellow ochre pale and/or pink just to tint the white.
I am used to using a lot of scumbling rather than a blending technique. This was an interesting process. The blending process takes a lot longer than the application of paint and it is interesting to feel the painting come to life.