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My back yard is frequently my best source of inspiration for paintings.  Recently, I had been eyeing my camellia bushes, waiting for the blooms to appear while I was finishing another painting.  I was soon rewarded with several magnificent pink camellia blossoms.  I decided to give these amazing beauties the starring role in my next still life, with the intention of painting them from life.

 

The benefit of painting from life instead of painting from photos is indisputable.  Nuances in light and color are just not visible in a photo, colors look notably different.  There’s no comparison, especially when it comes to flowers.  The obvious drawback to painting from life is, of course, time.  We all know how fragile fresh cut flowers can be.  In a day or two, or even in the course of a few hours, flowers droop, the leaves curl, and the colors fade.  So time is of the essence.  Which is why most artists paint flowers “alla prima”, which means “at first attempt”, or all at once.  An alla prima painter will set up a still life, create a quick sketch and just dive in, sometimes finishing in a couple of hours or less. 

 

I’m not an alla prima type of gal.  I’m not fast and I’m a bit of an over-planner.  My preferred method is to set up a still life, do a few small drawings to study the composition, a monochromatic value underpainting, a color study, then begin applying color, usually in many layers.  This procedure just doesn’t work when painting flowers from life.  The flowers will be dead before I squeeze the paint out of the tubes. So I am forced to adapt to more of an alla prima style when painting delicate blooms. 

 

A few years ago I actually took an alla prima oil painting class to help me loosen up and paint more quickly.  The instructor set up a still life comprised of an avocado, a couple of tomatoes and chili peppers, and a glass jar full of salsa.  When it came to painting the jar of salsa, I just froze. Trying to paint this mishmash of colors and shapes was mind-boggling.  I just didn’t know where to begin.  The instructor saved me with one sage bit of advice - “Don’t think about it.”  Of course, that is the secret to intuitive painting, but to an over-thinker like me, not easily done.  But it worked.  As soon as I stopped trying to figure it out, I could do it. 

 

But even painting flowers in an alla prima style takes a little bit of planning.  On the first day of working on my “Camellias” painting, I picked the flowers, carefully arranged them in a silver bowl, and drew the composition onto the canvas.  After mixing the colors, I set to work painting the blooms, working as fast as I could, knowing how quickly these flowers can wilt.  But life happens, and other commitments came up, interrupting my work and preventing me from getting back to my camellia painting for a day or two.  For that period of time, I was in a mild state of panic, thinking while I was doing other things “my camellias are dying and here I am doing (fill in the blank…)!!  Painting shouldn’t be that stressful.

 

I did manage to finish painting the camellias from life, although I had to replace the blooms more than once.  Trying to position new flowers just exactly the way the first ones were was a challenge, (Scotch Tape helps.) Not only that, I was running out of camellias – aaagh! 

 

I will continue to paint from life as much as I can.  Next time however, I think I’ll clear my calendar before I try to paint flowers from life again.  And I’ll definitely make sure I have plenty of replacements on hand.  Or maybe not, I don’t know.  I’m trying not to think about it!