Orchids in a Pot

Well, the old saw holds true, "when at first..." With a new photo, I thought it would be worth trying once again, to paint orchids in a pot. Here is the original photo, which was taken at Balboa Park in San Diego:

Next step was to put the photo in photoshop to work up the painting.

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Here are the early efforts to make the painting:

Orchids in a pot #1

Orchids in a pot #2

Orchids in a pot #3

I wanted to make something more fluid  and not as obsessed with the actual details of the flowers. I am, so far, happy with how this is turning out, although I see it would help to mix some fresh paint!

Finally got the entire canvas covered.  I can see that the pot needs some work and also the top of the painting, in particular, the top left side needs some work. Might help, also, to heighten even more the shadows.  Otherwise, I like how the shaded flowers turned out.

Orchids in a Pot #4

Returned to the painting to work on the background and to up the color in the pot.  I see that the painting needs more work in the back, but otherwise, it's time to set it aside and give it a rest for a few days, then take another look. I can see that I'm in the "happy until I hate it" phase!

Orchids in a Pot #5

Decided to wade back in to make a few changes. I worked on the flowers in shadow to make the colors of the shading more consistent and get rid of the green idea. Also worked in the background to try to make it less distracting.

Orchids in Pot #6

With some tweaking of the vase (I don't like the texture in the upper right corner), the painting will be essentially completed (hah!). And here goes. I might be hating it, but we'll see.

Orchids in a Pot #7

Ok, so I was having a problem in retrospect with the number of all white flowers and the generally cluttered look of the painting. This led to shading more of the flowers and also adding a more distinct color to the centers. I think the painting is improved with this change, giving more depth to the flowers.

Orchids in a Pot #8

More work, to try to increase variation in flower size and to slightly darken the center of the painting. Will it ever be finished??

I was thinking also, that there is too much verticality in the painting, accentuated by the flower stems.  Waded back in to do that, and also to put some glazing on some of the flowers to push them back somewhat. Also worked on the mess at the lower right corner.

Orchids in Pot #9

I think I could press the darkening of the flowers, especially at the bottom of the painting. This will allow more focus on the middle. Some cleanup at the top and I might actually concede!

Darkening the flowers gives the center of the painting more emphasis. Have to decide whether to darken three more flowers.  Because of all the shadows on the flowers, I think I may increase the dark colors in the background, especially top left. This would integrate the deeply shaded orchids.