Saturday 17 July 2010

Another Pay It Forward gift received

It's been a fairly busy week with a few doctor's appointments and car repairs thrown into the mix so I haven't had a lot of time to post, visit blogs, or get any art done for that matter.  Maybe in the coming week things will calm down a little.

A few days ago, Tabitha let me know that she received her gift from me.

Tabitha told me that her favourite flower was the daisy so I painted a small daisy canvas for her.
That little daisy notepad has a little pen/pencil that slots into the spine area....too cute.
As with the last Pay It Forward I painted, I took some progress pics of the painting process.

STEP ONE
I used some Atelier Binding Medium to adhere some decorative paper to the canvas
then blocked in the petals of the daisy with several layers of gesso.
I also washed a little Pthalo Blue over the paper to push it back a bit.

STEP TWO
I did some shading and detailing on the petals,
roughly patted in the daisy centre and
deepened the top left and bottom right corners of the background

STEP THREE
I painted in details on the daisy centre, added some highlights to the petals, and deepened the shading closest to the flower centre.  I also darkened some of the liner-work on certain petals to add more definition.

STEP FOUR
Another wash over the whole background and
some fine-tuning on the daisy

STEP FIVE
Tabitha focuses a lot on being grateful on her blog so I added the word GRATITUDE. I also rubbed some Jo Sonja Burnt Umber around the edges to kinda frame it and it's also what I painted on the sides of the canvas.
Daisy - acrylics/mixed media - 6"x6" gallery wrapped canvas
© Serena Lewis

Sorry about the blurriness in some of the photos, it was really tough trying to get decent photos at all as we were having very overcast days at the time. I don't use the camera flash when photographing art as it washes out colours but any slight movement will cause blurriness.  I could have set up an tripod, I guess, but I was either too keen to get onto the next stage of painting or too lazy...take your pick.  Anywhoo, I hope you enjoyed seeing the painting process.  Three down, three to go......there were only five Pay It Forward recipients in the challenge but, as I received interest from six people, I decided to gift the sixth person also.  This person said she loved the idea of Paying It Forward so much that she intended to Pay It Forward whether she was chosen or not which I thought was very sweet.

Today, I'm hoping to get some more art done as well as some sketching in my journals.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

~ Love, light and peace ~

26 comments:

  1. Interesting techniques! Loved watching the steps.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh I love that daisy, it is quite luminous. I like daisy's too. This is a beautiful but simple piece.

    Kate

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh I love that daisy, it is quite luminous. I like daisy's too. This is a beautiful but simple piece.

    Kate

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful. I love our flowers so much!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Serena, those are GORGEOUS!!! You have such a good steady hand, and I love your use of color!! How do I sign up for this???? LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, I love seeing all the steps and having it all explained. This is so gorgeous! I love the way you detail the petals--so delicate. And against the deeper blue/greens--love it! Very thoughtful. You are so talented, Serena.

    I hope the week was just usual appointments and nothing bad going on. Have a great weekend!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for sharing the process, I find it fascinating. It's useful for helping DS2. I think the hardest part is realising art isn't always instant, there has to be a period of waiting

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gorgeous! It almost looks like a photo of a daisy collaged onto the paper. You are so good!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, Serena, this is so light and lovely. The daisy just pops against that blue background.

    Your pay-it-forward souls are receiving treasures. You are both talented *and* generous. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your paintings are always beautiful Serena; lucky for me I am the proud owner of two gorgeous pieces of your work received in our personal birthday exchanges.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for sharing at how you went about painting this, I love the way you added shading to the flower which really came out very clear and good, I am still learning how to shade with paint and I found this very helpful to me.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks, everyone.

    Jane - Working in acrylics is relatively fast as you can dry with a hair-dryer between coats/layers. My problem is that I can never find the spare time to get the art done with so many other things going on in my life. My time management skills are crap ~ lol

    Judy - I have some lovely art pieces done by you too...real treasures! :)

    Rosy - I'm glad you found the step-by-step helpful ~ :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Serena,
    How thoughtful that you payed attention to Tabitha blog and know about her "Gratitude".
    Well done on the step by steps, always good to see how someone else does them.
    Ah, I must join in on the next "Pass it forward"
    Hugs,
    Anna
    PS: How's the baby's blanket coming along?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Serena, I LOVE LOVE my gifts! You truly made me happy and I am forever grateful. I'm trying to decide where to hang my painting. (=

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a beautiful gift! Thank you for sharing your techniques with us.

    ReplyDelete
  16. another beautiful piece Serena....I love seeing the progression photos..... seeing as I don't paint I find it amazing to see the difference each step makes....

    ReplyDelete
  17. Serena! your daisy painting is amazing! I really love your style! all the details you put into it...the flower is so realistic looking and your background colour choices really make it pop!

    great job!
    how lovely to receive such a gift!

    thanks too for coming by to see me! i love hearing from you!

    ciao bella
    creative carmelina

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank for showing the process. It's beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Gorgeous Daisy painting and generous gift.You are so talented.
    Love you

    ReplyDelete
  20. The daisy is so beautiful Serena...thanks for the step by step showing us how you did it. I can hardly wait until I have a studio space again and can unpack my paints. You always inspire me!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I really enjoyed watching your painting progress. It is such a lovely gift, I'm sure Tabitha was thrilled with it!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Serena,
    Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving such a lovely comment. I think we have all been in that place but finding our way out is the best!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Oh this is too much! Aaaaammmaaaazing....

    ReplyDelete
  24. This painting is fantastic Serena, what a lucky recipient.
    I love the technique. Thanks for generously sharing the step by step, they are invaluable for learning.
    Lee:)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Oooh, such a pretty daisy :) And, thank you for sharing with us your technique. You are incredible with your loveliness, generosity and talent :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thanks for the step by step... I love seeing that1What a stunning little treasure that resulted-absolutely spot on in every detail...LOVE it!

    ReplyDelete