Thre Red Camellia in a Round Glass Vase SOLD

It's spring, the camellias are blooming - time to paint!  How to make a light-struck area without painting pasty pink?  I used a medium that allowed me to thin my reds and apply the oil almost like watercolor-very dilute with the white of the canvas showing through.   I like the shape of the vase and the repeat in the circular arrangement of the flowers.  Since this one just sold, look for more of my work at the Vashon Art Studio Tour the first two weekends in May.  Link to map of Vashon Art Studio Tour.

Red Camellia, Round Jar SOLD

This camellia is just fabulous and flamboyant.  The leaves are stiff and shiny and the flowers have such strong contrast between the red petals and the yellow stamens.  Red is a difficult color to paint because it is so intense; to paint a dark red in shadow, the shadow has to be almost black and the light struck areas aren't really pink, they're still red.  It's as though the colors are vibrating in a spectrum that can't be captured by mere paint.