Friday, May 2, 2008

Not even Solomon ...

Matthew 6:28-29

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.


Consider These © 2008 Karen Mathison Schmidt
6 x 6 • acrylic on Gessobord
gloss varnish for protection and easy cleaning • sold unframed
sold • private collection, Scottsdale, Arizona

Here’s my humble depiction of more breathtaking beauties from a sidewalk garden in town.

And here are my work in progress photos.

1. The initial sketch, using Mars Black.


2. Blocking in the main colors areas.
My husband calls this “the crayola stage.” He’s a real riot. Although I must admit it does kinda look like a coloring book right here. So, ok, – “the crayola stage” it is.


3. Adding more detailed layers of color ...


... adjusting the background color as I go along.


As usual, once I got past a certain point I got lost in the painting and forgot to take more photos until I emerged on the other side of “finished.”

And here are some close-up details:


2 comments:

Rose Welty said...

Karen, I've admired your work for a while now, found you on the blogs somehow. This lily piece is just tremendous!

I enjoy the blog as well...and as another reader said, you do live in a beautiful place.

Kelley Carey MacDonald said...

This is so beautiful - I get lost in it, too, all those lush colors. Thanks for sharing your process, too. Sometimes I look at your work and say to myself "How DOES she do it???" :)