Nelly or Nellie Mosher Clematis Completed

Nellie Mosher - Nelly Mosher

The real satisfaction is in the finishing touches.  The stage of the painting where it is super close to being completed – just requires the last details.  In this case the centers of the blossoms.  I painstakingly painted around these skinny little stamems and as pretty much the last step I got to paint them in. 

Then the scrutinizing begins – I look at the painting more holistically now.  Are the colors true to life?  Are the shadows painted with enough contrast? Are the lights and darks balanced to a believable state?  Are the tones balanced appropriately over the whole piece for the lighting of the day?

The images that I worked from were captured on a hazy day so the shadows are not particularly defined.  So no high key contrast here.

So happily - on to the next work!