It took me a few days to figure out what I wanted to paint first on one of my mini canvases that I talked about in my last post, but I finally decided to do a little floral series. I was considering doing a floral cross stitch triptych, but for now I’m still chugging along on my bigger Michelangelo piece and the next cross stitch is still very much in the design phase. Maybe if these little oil paintings come out well they can be the basis for the next cross stitch design, I’ll have to see how they come out and how well they work as a triptych. I took the photos in my Mum and my Auntie’s gardens, god knows I have no green thumb whatsoever.
Tonight I just started with doing the drawing, I didn’t want to start painting as it’s pretty late and I’m trying to pace myself when working on projects. I first had to figure out how to set up my little canvas so that I could draw at eye level and have my reference image very close by. I wanted to keep my head and my arms still to keep me as pain-free as possible. So here’s my mini set-up, I have a great laptop table from Staples that swings almost completely over my lap. And in case you’re wondering about the video clip next to the flower photo, I was listening to a MaRS DD entrepreneurial video while I was drawing, those are really interesting lessons and I’m learning a lot.
Here’s the image I chose, I really like the contrast between the highlights and the shadows in this photo which is why I chose it. It is detailed enough to be a good test for the mini canvas and oils, but not so detailed that I’ll need a stupidly fine paintbrush which would likely make me nuts. I can’t for the life of me remember what this flower is called, like I said I’m awful with plants. If they would remind me to water them they might stand a better chance of survival in my house, but nope. Thankfully I don’t forget to feed Coco, he is very good about staring at me adoringly if I forget to feed him on time and reminding me.
So it took me about 45 minutes as I haven’t drawn by hand in ages, but I did get a rough outline of the main details of the flower down onto my mini canvas. I think it’s going to be interesting to work on, mainly because it’s the first time I’ve painted in so long but also because I don’t think I’ve ever done such a small painting. I’ll keep updating my progress as I go along. 🙂
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