Roses Oval

Pink Roses Oval

Being in an art supply store, for me, is like being a "kid in the toy store."   I am usually shopping with specific intent (and a list) but I am easily lured toward impulse buys when it comes to art supplies.  One such impulse was the purchase of the oval canvas used for this painting.    My original idea was to use the oval for a portrait, as was popular in the nineteenth century.   In preparation for the portrait, I underpainted the canvas - at least twice - during the several months it spent hanging out in my studio.   I never did execute the oval portrait, but eventually decided to use the surface for this pink roses bouquet.  Yes, another pink roses painting!

I wouldn't have guessed that the shape of the canvas would disrupt a comfortable painting "flow," but it did!   Not having straight edges made me feel like the painting elements were floating, and their placement seemed "off."    Initially the roses were painted sitting in a vase until I realized that the weight and groundedness of the vase was the problem.  It had created an imbalance so the vase had to go!   As soon as the vase was wiped off, there was instant harmony within the rounded edges.

Learning never stops does it?  This experience showed me some compositional attributes of subject space versus "white" space, and of course beyond that, it demonstrated that its fruitful to try new things often!