29. White Rose - Little Light

daily painting flowers in a vase oils roses white Feb 26, 2023

Learning All The Time.

You can hardly ever repeat a subject the exact way you painted it before. Here I wanted to paint the little light again, though I did get lost in painting the rose, over and over again, wasted time, painted on it two days! More time doesn't equate to a better painting. Essence is what it's about!

So yes, ups, downs, even in this 'simple' topic, small canvas. That's life. And then, ask the question, "What did we learn".

-> "Less is More". Can you simplify more, the next time? Can you step away further to see it simplified more? Can you increase the haste? Can you -at one point- stay away from it to not paint into it endlessly? The rose withered, it was such a great rose. Strong and perfect.

_ _ _
A Few Days Later
I can say I almost never add to a painting after the session is done (and the subject/landscape gone) but with this one I did add after the fact.

One night I looked at it, looked at the photo and decided it could be better with just a few strokes.
I took that risk (because you can destroy it easily working from memory), I upped and simplified the highlight on the right. Done!
Again, this proves what I often say: Light trumps detail. (Realism has to do with color & light - more so than getting 'all details' in. -Less being more- as long as 'the essence' is supporting a light situation. (...on and on!)