It’s been a little while since I’ve done a painting video tutorial, so even though this was just a sketch to get into the groove of oil painting again, I decided to set up the camera and turn it into a tutorial. Really, it’s more of a paint-a-long than a tutorial since I wouldn’t consider myself an expert when it comes to painting flowers! It is definitely not my sweet spot when it comes to oil painting, but they are a popular subject so I’ve decided to keep working on them despite feeling like it’s not my forté.
This painting was done in about 40 minutes, so it’s what I would consider a sketch more than a finished painting. My goal wasn’t to have something that looked refined and detailed, but instead a painting that was impressionistic, simplified, and loose. I focused on blocking in the larger shapes and only adding the detail where needed so I didn’t get too lost and tight in the details.
It’s not one of my favorite paintings ever, but it got me painting, I learned from it, and I don’t completely hate it for what it is. Sometimes, at the easel, that’s a win!
This is the reference photo I used. It’s also available, along with a growing library of royalty-free reference photos for artists on www.artistreferencephotos.com.
Here is the video tutorial/paint-a-long of this oil painting floral still life…
You can find posts about oil painting HERE.
9 Responses
I don’t paint but I loved watching this process. I love seeing people create whatever they’re good at! Thanks, Marian.
Have you considered making this available in Society 6 or other art vendor? I would to purchase this as a canvas.
Oh so would I!!! It is AWESOME!!
I barely dabble in water color but enjoyed the video. What I would love is to have that crock. 🙂
Thank you so much for another fun painting. You are my inspiration for starting back painting. I enjoyed art as a teenager and never picked it back up until I watched your painting videos during the lockdown . So thank you for another tutorial.
I don’t think I could ever SEE the way you need to in order to paint something that doesn’t look like how it ACTUALLY looks, in other words, how to paint it to be a painting and not a photograph. My brain doesn’t seem to work that way. Looking at your tutorial, I would never even think of painting in that way. Your painting looks far better than the photograph as well, since the photo is really just a snapshot, and not a work of art, whereas the painting looks like a work of art.
The painting looks better than the photograph. It grabs the imagination more. I think your recent passion for gardening has placed you in a position to be able to render plants well. Henri Latour is my favorite French botanical artist. This painting with its dark background reminds me of some of his work. Thank you for the video, nice to hear what your voice is like. Great job!
You are a fan of impressionists, are you? Go, look at their colour use. They primarily use red in front, blue in the back, and yellow in between with sketching. Rarely black. White is the canvas. After that, they make dots of light and movement. It will give you a whole new idea of painting. Monet was an expert in that. The older he got, the more dots of light he painted. Rarely forms.
Just caught this post. I have been behind lately , garden is producing. Love the crock. I have the same one but with the bail. Love your paintings.