fading blooms

The Blank Page; casein tempera on board; 8" x 10"

These carnations have modeled for their last painting.  It's time now to put them to rest in the compost pile.  Like the sunflowers before them, I try to keep painting with a bunch of flowers until their last day.  They're not that expensive but it still seems wasteful not to keep painting with them while they're still fresh.  And by constraining my subject matter, I'm forced to come up with new ways to present them.  I like that challenge.

The painting above was going to be a still life on top of an odd-little-black-metal-side table.  There were sliced kiwis, a red pear and a glass vase of pink carnations arranged sweetly on the round top.  But as I was framing the scene in my view finder, the stuff at the base of the table caught my eye.  The blank page, the jumble of marbles and another vase of carnations (there were five vases total from this bunch) were calling to me.  It was definitely a challenge for me.  But I'm satisfied now - I'm glad the carnations held out long enough to adorn The Blank Page.

Number 97 of my 100-painting Reboot - only three more to go.