8 by 10 inch Iris Painting One Session at a Time

I'd been using this old canvas panel to lay my paints out on for a long time while working on other paintings so it had built up a very heavily textured surface I felt would be great for a wild countryside painting. At this point the colors on it really don't matter.

After selecting one of the photos of the Iris I've been growing here since my brother shared these from his garden, I began to paint the background in.

Very little had been sketched in using sidewalk chalk.

Next I began adding in the flowers.

The leaves followed, first in leftover paints from the flowers and then in the correct leaf shades.

I continued adding different shades of green to the leaves and plants looking for just the right balance of darks and lights.

At this point I felt I was getting carried away with the leaves so I painted some of them out using a dark mixture of crimson, hookers green and burnt umber.

Here's a selection of the colors that I was using. The important thing to note here is that I have six different greens and 2 different yellows to start with and can blend many more by combining them in different ways.

Next time you find yourself outdoors on a summer day, take some time to notice how many different shades of green there are in nature. You may be surprised.

I continued to change the plants and flowers trying to make them spark to life so you can actually get a sense of movement from looking at them.

 I was very happy with the results and knew it was one of my better ones as I tumbled into bed and had the first hard and restful sleep I'd had since I started. painting takes a lot out of me but I just can't do without it.