Almost There - 5th Stage - Pink Water Lilies (Work In Progress)

Stage 5 Pink Water Lilies

Work In Progress

12" x 16" oil on gallery wrap canvas

Now I am getting somewhere with this painting!  After working on it again last night, this oil of pink water lilies is finally taking shape and going in the direction I want it to.  I had intended to wait until I finished it to post about it again, but I am so excited I wanted to share it today.  It may take a couple of more days to finish.   

Some of you may not have read my previous posts where I stated that I am a self-taught artist, and have learned to paint over decades of trial and error.   Most paintings nowadays flow easier than this one did, for whatever reason.    I learned most of my painting knowledge from books, dating back to when I was a teenager.    At age 15 the one I poured over most of all was "Carlson' s Guide to Landscape Painting" by John F. Carlson.  It's really an oldie, first published I believe in 1929 and the ninth printing was in 1971.   I believe you can still find it on Amazon.   I highly recommend it for beginning artists; but all artists at all stages in their career would benefit from this book.  

Having said all that, sometimes I still just paint by instinct;   I don't always know why I do what I do or if I could repeat it again.   Does anyone else relate?    

Thank you for viewing my art !

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com 

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Fourth stage - Oil Painting of Pink Water Lilies (Work In Progress)

4th Stage - Pink Water Lilies

12" x 16" Work In Progress

This stage of my oil pink water lilies painting has reverted back to colors and hues in a previous stage.   I guess it is obvious I am experimenting and feeling my way along with this painting.  Sometimes when I work I know exactly what I want the painting to say and exactly how the finish will be.   With this oil painting,  that is not the case.   However, one plus in working in layers of color and in several stages is that you can discover new colors or, should I say, the colors can be richer and have more depth.    I hope to finish this before I post it again .   

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

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Pink Water Lilies - Oil Painting (Work In Progress)

"I must have flowers, always, and always."  - Claude Monet

Pink Water Lilies

Work In Progress 12" x 16"

The red water lily painting I began the other day has now turned into pink water lilies.   I will not leave them this rather "neon" pink look, but will refine the flowers with lighter and darker tones as I continue to paint.   Also, I am not happy with the color of the lily pads.   Much work needs to be done here.  

It seemed fitting to do a post of flowers today, as it is still the first day of Spring here in Hawaii.  Due to the time difference, it is already Saturday on most of the mainland except the West Coast.

As a child, I lived primarily with my grandparents (on my father's side) and my grandmother loved flowers.  She also had a concrete pond with goldfish and water lilies.   My young mind was more interested in the goldfish than the flowers.   Even as a teenager I was not particularly overly interested in flowers, but when my husband and I bought our home in Massachusetts, I went absolutely wild with flowers in the yard.   I planted various bulbs like tulips and crocus that would bloom in the Spring and I started many flowers from seed under lights in the winter to plant outside come sometime in May in Massachusetts.    My grandfather had always had a vegetable garden when I was a child, and all of a sudden with my new home, I discovered an interest in vegetable gardening as well.    

My point is,  I now feel like Monet in the quote above :  I must have flowers surrounding me.  I do not have any water lilies,  but I visit gardens and other areas here in Honolulu and Waikiki to photograph them and just to take in their beauty.   Beauty, Light, and Color inspire me to paint.  

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