To give you an idea of how I paint, I decided to take a photo after each layer of the “Petals in Gray Sky” so you kinda get a feeling for how a painting is made. These aren’t the best photos, but they at least give you an idea. šŸ™‚

A step-by-step of how “Petals in Gray Sky” was made.

To start, I sketched the outline of the painting, just so I would know the perspective was right and the shape of what I was painting looked semi-alright. Then I added the base color of the petals. I don’t really enjoy the first few layers… I do love, howevever (and often spend too much time) spending time on the details which comes much later. 

I filled in the first layer of the background color fairly early this time, normally I wait to make sure the shape is right so I can change things around. Next comes a little highlighting where I added some diluted whites here and there to give it some dimension and then I started working on adding the details – first the darker yellow and then white details…and finally some light-yellow. In between those layers were a few background layers (3 or 4). And yes, sometimes I paint a layer upside down while a side is drying (the easel will otherwise leave marks on the canvas).

Once I knew the painting was close to being done, I added a dark-gray outline around the petals and a darker tan-ish color to highlight the edges of the petals where they are touching. Ta-daa!

And here’s the finished painting with the final layer, plus the varnish!

A finished “Petals in Gray Sky”

Hope you enjoyed this little ‘behind the scenes’ tour!

e.

Hi , I’m Erica! Your compassionate pet portrait painter

I’m a 3rd generation painter who has been painting for over 35 years. I’m here to help you find inner peace with custom pet portraits and creative joy through pet pet portrait course.

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