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Dad's Day Lilies

12" x 9"

Oil on RayMar Canvas Panel

A week or so ago I decided to sit down and try to paint a simple still life partly to get away from plein air and figurative work. It was also partly to see if I could apply some of the things about value and notan that I've been mulling over for months. I was fairly happy with the result.

The set up is a simple vase with day lilies that I saw on my Dad's kitchen table. I liked the way the light was striking the petals and the patterns in the glass vase. Daddy always has flowers on his kitchen table. They are usually from his garden and they make me happy.

When I finished it, I showed it to my teacher, Johanna Spinks, who suggested that I push back some of the edges using glazes. I used to think glazes were just used in a specific type of painting like those the old masters did where they painted a toned underpainting and later added many layers of transparent glazes over it. I've found out more recently from several artists that it is often used to push something back, to soften edges and just to add a richness to any type of painting. It's always nice to learn new tricks.