"Three's Company", 8x10, oil on wrapped Belgian linen-paintings of roses, oranges, pink roses, impressionist roses, impasto, MAryanne Jacobsen

"Three's Company", 8x10, oil on wrapped  Belgian linen

I haven't done a floral in a long while and was in the mood to do one, so today I bought some reduced roses at the market and set to work!

Here's my set-up:

I got a late start and the light was rather poor so I had to work fast. I enjoyed doing these as a change of pace. I think it's good to mix things up periodically so as to not get into a rut.

"Three's company" has thick paint throughout. If you wish to purchase this, please allow at least two weeks for the impasto to dry before I can ship it. Also available in a gold plein air frame for an additional $40.

"Juicy Fruits", 5x7, oil on linen on panel, pears, grapes

SOLD

"Juicy Fruits", 5x7, oil on linen on panel

This painting is a study in using specific colors and is a continuation of the Limited Palette Challenge that I joined over the weekend. In this challenge, I used only white, cad yellow medium (Gamblin), Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue and Gamblins's transparent Chromatic black.

It was quite challenging for me to try to get a vibrant red from this cold, fugitive red (Alizarin Crimson) and the impure, orangey yellow that I had to use. In the end, I had to be satisfied with much less vibrant colors than I'm used to.

However, I've been learning a lot from working from a limited palette and I would encourage all my artist friends to try it too! You can join the Limited Palette Group that is posting on Facebook here.

It's a great opportunity to mix color combinations that you would not normally use, and the color harmony achieved is a great plus! The challenge began as a result of Ken Auster's demo at the 1st annual plein air convention held recently in Las Vegas. The colors I used above are the colors that Ken used in his demo.