a wash of blues and purples...

I've been happily lost in many washes of blues and purples lately, painting a very large pansy.

I kind of love-hate pansies... they are such a welcome hit of colour in spring and their delicate petals are lovely when they're sitting at the garden centre hoping you'll pick them up and take them home. But then, once they're planted in the dirt, those delicate petals get crushed down by the lightest spring rain shower and continue to get eaten by slugs. Yes, I love them, and loathe them!

I thought it would be wonderful to paint one and celebrate all that lovely watery colour and see what would happen if I painted one very large. I chose a blue pansy, which I was quite taken by, but then grows more purple as it matures, and I decided to paint on a 16x16 inch square panel.

Here is a peek at the painting in progress, as I'm building up the layers of colour. Even though I have a place to paint, the living room floor was the only spot that seemed right that day. It's like I needed to lean over the painting to be fully immersed in it, rather than staring AT it on an easel. 

The painting is almost finished now... just fine tuning some details. I'll post the completed blue pansy very soon!