Succulent

Succulents seem to be a new popular plant fad lately. I have always like them especial this variety. I use to have a terra-cotta strawberry jar with several of them sticking out all of the side openings and the top. The common name for them in the mid-west was "hen and chicks." It was fun but time consuming to get the "bloom" look on each leaf. 

Peonies

I would have been thrill with the result of this painting a month ago. But since then I have been aiming for a result that comes closer to a photorealistic painting. This one fell short. I will try it again but first I need to practice multi-layered petal flowers. Plus shadows on hot press paper are much harder for me to achieve than on cold press paper. The paper also pulled away from the pad so there is rippling. The paper is Fabriano Artistico extra white 140 lbs. (300 g/m) hot press12" x 18" (cropped to 12x16). I like the brighter white as compared to Arches creamy white.

White Cosmo

I decided to try this technique on a small (7x7) piece of Saunders Waterford cold press 638gm paper. It was part of a sample packet I bought in 2008 and never used. Since the cosmos bloom has a rough and crinkled surface I thought it might work for this painting. It worked fine but I don't think is was kind to my 000 brush. The weight of the paper was wonderful for this style of painting where I am constantly applying and reapplying paint to small areas. I may pull the painting back out and add a colored background at a later date. 

Peach

I have painted peaches before but in a much looser style. Trying to get the "fuzzy" texture was interesting and time consuming. I need to paint a few more peaches before I will be satisfied with the results. That said it is always fun to try something new, particularly, when I learn from the process. Plus I find that if I let a painting sit for a day or more, when I return I see it with new eyes. This allows me to evaluate the image more objectively and decide if there are any changes I need to make. So I will check back on it in a couple of days.

Pear

I have always liked painting pears. This one is a watercolor in the new realistic style I am trying out. Think I am liking the results. It takes longer, hours instead of minutes. And I usually work on it over a couple of days. The main difference is that I have been doing sketches where this is really a painting.