Dahlias

I finished this painting last week, but am only now getting around to posting it.

This painting was inspired by a bouquet of dahlias I bought from the Farmer's Market in Burbank.  They were so vibrant and their petals reminded me of a watercolor painting, so I thought that I'd try it out.

The painting took a long time to draw the basic outline and to paint the first flower, but then it flowed together more easily after that.  Painting wise, I started first with the main flower, then painted the other magenta flowers, then I moved onto the red-orange flowers and painted all of those, then I painted all of the green stuff: the stems, leaves, etc.

I am really happy with how the vase turned out.  The vase I had the arrangement in is quite funky, so while I was painting it, I wasn't sure if I would be able to capture the vase well enough so that the viewer  would understand the shape of the vase holding the arrangement.

Anyway, glad that the painting is finished (can have the dining room table back!), but the process reminded me that I am really out of shape when it comes to painting.  Sure, I can sit down and paint a relatively nice painting, but without the regular practice, my technique just looks too forced to me...not enough flow.  I've decided that in the desire to get back into shape, I will take a local watercolor class to make myself practice painting weekly.  I still have to sign up, but the class should start in the middle of September.