Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas, Oil on Board, 23"x34"

I lowered the intensity of the blossom on the left behind the large violet/pink blossom.  Hopefully, this will help it to recede.  We'll see when I work into the pink blossom and try to bring it forward.  

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas, Oil on Board, 23"x34"

I spent the entire studio time on one leaf today.  When I asked the house critic if it was over worked, he only said, "I don't understand why you paint leaves that are damaged."  I said, "it makes things more interesting" and, of course, that is the way of nature. He contended that Botticelli would leave off a wart on the nose of his model.  

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas, Oil on Board, 23"x34"

Only had a small amount of time today. I reduced the value of the lower left corner blossom, which can hardly be seen here.  I'm ready to refine my values and begin to think about the overall unity of the piece.  A lot of white ground is still showing through, too.  When that is covered the colors will sing a it more.

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas, Oil on Board, 23"x34"

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas, Oil on Board, 23"x34"

One hydrangea bush can produce a variety of blossom colors depending on the soil content.  Should the soil be high in pH the blossom are more pink; low pH results in blue blossoms.  Some gardeners try to control the color of the blossom by added lime or aluminum sulfate to the soil.  Our bush seems to be conflicted as it has a mixture of blue and pink blossoms.  This could be caused because the shrub is planted at the edge of woods with oaks and pine.  Yet, the bed it is planted in is limed each year.  So, perhaps the acidic soil of the woods is creeping into the limed flower bed and creating a cacophony of color.

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas, Oil on Board, 23"x34"

The smaller blossoms take longer and are more difficult to paint because of the small size of each petal.  So I didn't make as much progress today as I was hoping.  

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas, Oil on Board, 23"x34"

Now that I'm working on smaller blossoms, working about 2 hours, I find that I can get in one a day.  I should finish this stage in about 4 days.  Then I can start working on color in a more unified manner, working on composition emphasizes a focal point.  Maybe the leaves can help with that.  I also think that the 3 small blossoms on the right edge can work as one large blossom to balance the 2 large blossoms to the left.