White Lotus, Part II

(Technically, this was written on Friday night but I didn't want to double-post.)

After publishing Friday's post, White Lotus, Part I, things started rolling. I wasn't sure I was liking the amount of terra cotta in the upper portion above the flower. It seemed to dominate overmuch. I also felt I didn't have enough dark (purples and greens) in the lower half to give the work depth like a pond. I loved the burst of the aqua yet thought maybe it was a bit too large.

So, I propped the painting against the wall in the dining room where I intended to hang the finished piece. My dining room and living room are basically one large rectangular space, and the colors I'm using to decorate are incorporated into the art. I needed to see how well the wall color, a medium toned khaki, played together with what was happening in the painting. I knew the fairly neutral background would 'pop' the colors even more and I could better judge what I needed to do. I want color, but I also want an element of softness as well. The white of the lotus needed to 'glow' and make the flower the focal point, even when juxtaposed against the more vivid colors.

With the painting leaning against the wall I sat down at the table and stared at it for a long time. I compared it to the printed out version I was using as my reference and realized I was right about the dark half. The upper half needed a bit of a 'tone down', too. I took it back to the studio and got busy.

On the lower half I pulled more of the darks up closer to the reflected petals of the lotus, both reducing the area of the bright aqua and giving it another layer of shadows. I also blended in a small amount of a deep burgundy to 'dirty' the water. Ponds are murky.

I brushed a wash of a soft buttermilk white mixed in glaze medium over the upper part, and added some areas of the darks to give a bit more 'depth' to it as well. I used a rough brush to tamp and smudge some of the burgundy above the lotus to break up the intensity of the terra cotta. This also gave the painting a bit of visual 'texture' to counter balance the expanse of predominately smoothly blended colors.

I brushed a bright white on the lotus petals to play against the more creamy white they were painted with. I also brushed the white horizontally across the canvas with a small brush, then blended it with a clean fat brush to blur it, creating a soft illusion of ripples on the surface of the water.

I carted it back to the dining room, propped it against the wall, and stared at it again. Then I walked away and watched a show on Hulu.com for about forty-five minutes. Sometimes you just have to stop looking at something in order to see it again.

When I walked back over to study it some more I suddenly realized it was finished ...

I'm pleased with the end result. What a wonderful feeling. Particularly after taking so long to get the Angel done! This painting, even though it's large (24" x 48"), only took around a week to paint. I think I'm still surprised to be finished so quickly. I wasn't prepared for an, "Oh, well, I'm done." in a week. Yeah, good feeling.

Not sure what's next, but whatever it is, it starts tomorrow!

Namaste, y'all ...