THE QUEEN'S BOULEVARD

The Queen's Boulevard
Little Gem
6x8 oil on canvas mounted

The Queen's Boulevard is finished.  I found out  how much attention I pay to negative space when painting.   I am beginning to realize that when a painting isn't working, much of the time it is because my negative space doesn't work.  

I named this painting "The Queen's Boulevard" because this very long row of azaleas (or could the flowers be rhododendrons?) actually line a street in Denmark leading to the Queen's summer residence.  And yes, the queen was at home while I studied her residence, grounds and watched the changing of the guards.

Click here to purchase on dailypaintworks.com

The Queen's Boulevard: step by step

                                                       THE QUEEN'S BOULEVARD

I am always interested in painting flowers.  For a long while I painted them up close and large.  But with the thirty day challenge of September, I painted only that which I saw in New Mexico.  Now I am considering a series of landscapes which include flower gardens.   I especially like the flower gardens in the southeastern part of the USA...South Carolina in particular.                                                      

Blocking In

After toning the canvas with a light red, I blocked in the setting using a palette knife and heavy chunks of color.

Defining

I have been defining the painting for a bit now

The Queen's Boulevard
Little Gem
oil on canvas mounted museum board

and I like the strength of the colors but am be-
ginning to see a slight change in composition
will be an improvement.













I felt by adding more sky the painting would
"open up" more.  Though years of study and knowing painting guidelines, intuition is a big part of creating a successful painting for me.  How do I feel about it?  Do I want the background trees in focus or not?

 I still see areas I want to improve as I lost the angle of the flowers on the left that had been  correctly placed in the above "defining" stage.  Tomorrow this will be finished and will be available on dailypaintworks.com