WIP Wednesday - Cactus Flower Painting

Happy Wednesday!

Check out my current work in progress:

Please excuse the way off white balance of these images-- there's only so much I can do with my incandescent bulbs and an iPhone. Trust me, it looks way better in person!  

I have to admit, I'm a little ashamed with how much I love this painting... I love the subject (cactus flower? of course!) I love the colors, and mostly, I love the gesso board that I'm painting on. I love how there is hardly any tooth or texture and that makes the physical act of putting the paint on the canvas and moving it around an absolute joy. Everything is coming together so smoothly, which is usually not how my paintings go. I don't think I can go back to painting on canvas (happily) after painting on this surface.

I started with a rough drawing. I'll add details to the painting later.

Then, the painting happened. And boy, did it happen. It was such a joy to paint!

This is where I left off, after two days of painting. I'm giving it a break, letting it rest. I'll come back and paint in a background and paint in more details on the petals this weekend. The last thing I will paint will be the little stamens in the center.

I'll keep you posted!