Wishing All of You the Best of New Years!!!

Gorgeous double daylily for a reference

I masked the flower, and did a w/w wash with burnt orange and indanthrone.

Re-masked the stamen and pistils, and started playing with the petals w/w, using aureolin and quin. sienna. 

Trying to take consistent photos is impossible at this time of year.
More w/w glazing with the orange for the flower, and quin. gold and indanthrone for the greenery.

I took this last summer at a neighbor's - I was taking care of her animals for a week. I don't think I'd seen hanging begonias before this.

The colors used so far were indanthrone, gold and brown madder. I masked the flowers, then wet everything and daubed on the three colors, then when dry, went back to work on the leaves and stem.
 

More detail on the leaves.

This gives a better idea of the actual colors, though I find with  multi-colored washes and glazing that the color is  very difficult to re-produce with photo and computer.

Just another example of how varies the colors appear.

Started to add more color to the flowers - alizarin crimson and quin. sienna - and glazed the fallen petals with alizarin.

This is where it stands now - almost done! I did want to create a moodier piece, focussing more on overall atmosphere rather than the plant. 

I finished up the chickadee, too, but somehow he looks like a stuffed bird to me.

It has been a difficult time for me. My aunt passed away Dec. 20. She helped bring me up - was around a lot. And for the past number of years, she was a strong supporter of my art. She had a good - no, great - eye, so was invaluable as a critic. She was my mentor and patron. I do, and will, miss her immensely.
Slowly, I am getting back to painting, pushing myself, because my heart is not really in it.

Thank you all for dropping by, and I wish you all the best in 2016!