This was a reminder ...

Mio

... of why I don't paint flowers 

This was very difficult. Please share all feedback, it would be a gift soon.

tassieguy

It's lovely, @Mio. I hope it's a gift for a lady because it is very feminine. They will love it.

Mio

@tassieguy naturally 😉

joydeschenes

Lovely light on it, which you do really good, but I’m missing some softer lines on some outside petals to the green just to “round it out” maybe.  I’m sure she’ll love it ! 

GTO

Nice soft touch.  Are you painting on panel?  Laying paint down thin?

Mio

@GTO always on panel .. I got the surface really smooth with this gesso layers and sanding.

Ended up doing 2 layers in oil after thinning out a bit too much at first. Turned out ok after I thought I might have to start over 😋

GTO

@Mio what grit smoothness is your final sanding?  Do you thin your paint more than as directed by Mark’s video?  Do you use any driers?  And do you use any blacks based on carbon, like ivory black, for example?
Do you have issues with dust on your panels Or take any precautions to avoid dust getting into wet paint?
I like the finish you have with your paint application.  I struggle with balancing thickness and transparency.

allforChrist

It's so delicate, @Mio.  Perhaps this is an encouragement to paint flowers more

Mio

@GTO I only have 1 grade of sand paper on hand, 200g I think. Usually my paint is thicker than Mark's, but for some reason I put a bit more Liquin than normal and it ended up in transparency. Second layer did the trick. Otherwise I use M. Graham's walnut oil. Yes I use ivory black (M. Graham). Dust is a horrible nemesis. But I keep the panels in a drawer - also in between painting sessions and for drying, this keeps them away from dusk. I also have to worry about cat hair now  

GTO

@Mio Ive been using M Graham walnut oil but lately I’ve been using Geneva paint.  I saw a video by mark where he cautions against using carbon based blacks like ivory.  He said that you don’t want to paint over top that black because it can crack.
I don’t see any brush marks in your paintings.  What kind of brush are you using for blending?

Mio

@GTO Ah I see, thanks for the tip.  I use the Winsor and Newton university brushes the most, like I did here. You are right, not many brush strokes are visible, especially not in the photos. I guess because I slapped it on fairly thin.