Vase of Flowers

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This was one of those paintings that I thought I'd never finish. I did have the flu bug, but aside from that, I had a very difficult time getting the values and color hues correct. I think I painted every surface in this piece, three or four times. It was a good learning exercise and the end result approaches the result I was looking for, but the painting's brush strokes became overworked and the paint begins to lose the freshness that is achieved by minimal strokes. Beginning the painting with a pencil drawing, got me off to a tighter path than if I had simply drawn the basic shapes with a paint brush. I fell into the old methods of working from my illustrator days. I started this piece without thinking about all that I've been learning recently. I was painting objects, not shapes and color, and when I started paying attention, I tried to correct my approach with some limited success. I'm pleased with achieving the values and colors that all combine to create the moody filtered light in the room. I am so ready to start something fresh ! Stay tuned.