Technology application

I am amazed at the impact the use of technology has had on my painting process.  I have always been aware of the layers needed to build the image I am after, but technology has allowed me to document the steps for analysis.  Not only can I study each step along the way, but I can also create a montage of steps to follow my earlier thinking and processing - especially if there is a gap in my 'paint time.' 

I began with a sketch of a vase of iris that were brought in for a recent painting workshop.   I have always been intrigued with the transparency aspect of a vase, the water and stems and want to explore further.   Pencil on Strathmore tan, 400 series paper.  

Quick sketch of one of the iris with the goal of keeping the vitality of the bloom.  Pencil on Strathmore 400, tan.

This is another new frontier for me:  although always curious, I have not tried a glass vase with water and flowers in this way before.  I really wanted to build each layer planfully and deconstruct what each plain of the image would look like in much the same way a lab tech creates a series of tissue samples by making slices of the sample, then examining each one.  What follows below are five of the major layers of this process. 

Early layer including the back wall of the rectangular vase and the back tier of stems.  Acrylic on gessogoard panel. 

Continuation of layering details.

Additional flowers added to the front of the arrangement, followed by the front sides of the vase and indicators for the surface level of the water, where the stems pierce the surface tension.  Also note the addition of the shadow, indicating a stronger presence of the light source.

Tweaks added to improve the transparency of the glass, shadowing, and perspective.  Also additional artistic license additions to push the color and tone contrasts - note the addition of orange stamines to the purple iris.

Additional artistic enhancements to create strongers lights/darks and contrasts, such as in the shadows of the contents of the vase. 

I have learned a lot from this process and am thinking about how I will apply this information to additional work.  I am not sure I am now, nor will I ever be, a painter of vased flowers, but this using a still-life type "model" to experiment with the rendering of light, transparency, and reflection is highly recommended!