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.
 
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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

Looking up, Pink Lilies painting in oils

Looking Up, Pink Lilies

18x24cm (approx 7"x10")

Oil on canvas panel, 
painted with a brush and finished with a palette knife.

Each spring I plant up several containers with a mix of flowers. Several years ago I planted several containers with lily bulbs. Once they stop flowing they are put into a corner of the garden and forgotten about. But each year they perform wonderfully. Their only care is watering and a bit of feed. These are lilies from one of those containers. Painted alla prima, in situ. It's lovely painting outside, but the sun does have a habit of moving around making it difficult to catch the light. You have to make up your mind early on where the lights and darks are to be placed.

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Pink Geraniums oil painting

 Pink Geraniums Container Plant by Marion Hedger

Oil on canvas panel, 17x24 cm (approx 7"x11")

These pink geraniums - or should I say pelargoniums? - are part of my container garden that brightesn up my back patio area in the summer. Because we have such dry summers, it is hard to have anything flowering as most of the plants go into a dormant stage. So I plant up a lot of containers to brighten the barbeque area. It's a win win situation as they are also lovely to paint.

Part of my Garden 101 series.

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