Done! The white flower basks on the dark leaves; the sunlight traces paths along the petals. Colour spills from the centre, reaching out to influence the rest of the flower. Way too much fun – I will have to do some more florals soon. (Maybe right after I do a painting for a local show entry and a commission.)

Some more of the background is in, defining the edges of the petals and echoing the shapes of the leaves in the darker ochres and greens and blues. I love the way these colours are emerging – a little surprised at the pinks and oranges in the petals, but they seem quite a part of it now.

Working more on the petals in this session. Introducing some unexpected colours – its the center of the flower asserting itself I think.  Not content to be the center of the painting, sneaky little fingers of colour brushing the pristine white of the petals…

I really wanted to see how the background works against the flower petals. I’m interested here in the fine line between the contrast between the darks and lights and the similarities in the shapes. Oh and I also wanted to pull some of the darker colours into the petals too. Too much fun!

Starting in on some of the petals now… For a white flower, there’s not a lot of white paint on the panel. I especially like the way the afternoon light hits the petals and the way the center of the flower spills out into the petals a bit.

It’s time for a flower I think! I was captivated by the sun on the petals of this delicate white flower. The centre explodes outward and will splash colour on the white petals to come…

This was great fun to paint. I loved bisecting the painting surface with bright thin pinks and purples and then echoing that in the background greens. And the delightful flowers bursting forth from the center of the plant provide a soft counterpoint to the more angular shapes in the rest of the painting.

Cleome flower abstract painting by Mandy Budan

I’d never seen these flowers before being commissioned to paint one. (My favourite part about commissions is the opportunity to paint something I wouldn’t have thought of on my own.) This plant is also called a’ spider flower’ or ‘grandfather’s whiskers’. Delicate petals in pinks and purples are offered up on long thin spikes. This is a very airy and delicate-looking plant and I think I need some in my garden next year!

cleome spider flower abstract painting green and purple

That’s it! I’m done! Although it took a little longer than I had planned, I did find the abstract shapes pretty easily and the colours were delightful to work with – I’ll have to do some more with this palette.

My next painting will a cool secluded forest and I get to start it tomorrow – yay Canada Day! And then after that it’s on to a commission.

I was really hoping to have this finished by now – I’m so close! Don’t get me wrong I love making this one (ok I love making them all lately ), but I have finally decided on my next one (cool contemplative forest coming up!) so I’m ready to get to it. I just have to finish the centre area with more leaves and stems. I don’t want to rush it and wreck it so I will just take as long as I take. I’ve got another flower planned for later in the year (pinks and purples and turquoise – oh my!) and I think it needs to be bigger than the sunflowers – maybe 3 x 4.