Loosen Up!

Painting on location in Botanic Gardens is a time to have fun, loosen up, and compose with rich and dramatic colors. This is a painting I did as a demonstration last year at one of my Summer Weekend Workshops in Botanic Gardens. I deliberately choose a different way of starting a painting from time to time so that my paintings don't look like formula paintings. This time I started with the large orange flower, placed it where I wanted in the composition then painted it with different shades of orange. Next I surrounded it with rich darks of blue and blue green so that it would stand out even more. As I moved beyond the main flower I painted looser and looser with dripping paint, visible brush strokes, and bits of white paper. I worked with a modified complimentary color scheme of blue and orange with a couple other colors used sparingly as accents. In this painting the accent colors are cobalt violet and red. The further I moved from the big orange flower the looser I painted and some of the smaller flowers are simply marks of color surrounded by darker colors. A few tips on loosening up your paintings: Don't go back and "correct." Work on getting the color, value, and color temperature right the first time. Use a bigger brush with a good point, I did this painting with a #8 round. Little brushes can result in fussy, overworked paintings. Before you make a paint stroke, decide if you want a hard or soft edge. If you want a soft edge do it while the paint is still damp, don't wait for the paint to dry. My first Weekend Painting in Botanic Gardens Workshop is May 3, 4 & 5 and you can sign up for 1, 2, or 3 days. I guarantee it will be fun and educational so if you are interested or want more information send me an email to pendletonstudio@gmail.com. You can also get information about this Workshop on my website dennispendleton.com under classes and workshops. Happy Painting! Dennis