Monday, August 02, 2010

Completed Painting: Dahlia (rookie painter challenge)


Since the last post, I repainted white over the whole thing. The oranges and pinks weren't vibrant enough and it was obvious the purple was bleeding through too much. With acrylics, it's all about layering. The paints on top are not 100% opaque so whatever color is underneath really affect the end result.

After 2 more sessions with just the pinks and red and oranges, I finally found the perfect mix for the majority of the really vibrant areas. Cadmium Orange Hue mixed with Acra Magenta mixed with a tiny tiny bit of white. normally what makes things look a bit washed out, but it really made the super glowy parts pop.

And here is the final product! I painted the edges a light blue, since I used the same color in the highlights.
Like I said, flowers really aren't my "thing" but I am pretty happy with the way this came out. I think the huge variations on color within one petal is difficult for me. This is also quite large in relation to the size I have been painting for a while (this is 11 by 14).

10 comments:

Mrs. P said...

wow - incredible!

connie said...

This painting is awesome! The translucence in the petals is just so nice. For someone who does not paint flowers I think you have created a masterpiece. Thanks for sharing.

elizabeth said...

This is really pretty! I'm Jennifer's sister, who took the photo of the dahlias. Your painting is true to life!

-Don said...

Nicely done, Julie. Aren't acrylics fun?

-Don

SYLVIANE said...

<what a work!it's awesome!

Horst said...

Very vibrant, great color choices and thanks for the tips.

Amy said...

BEAUTIFUL! I really love this one - it caught my eye first out of many of the others on rookie painter. Great colors and lovely detail.

Millie said...

Thank you for visiting my blog and clicking to "follow" me. Your works are awesome and I'm glad to follow you too.

Rebecca said...

Very nice color with the Dahlia. The color was definitely not easy to get with this challenge. You've done a very nice job.

RodiMad said...

Absolutely wonderful!
A delight to see!