Tags: floral painting - oil painting - alla prima - fine art - orange flower - 6x6 - hibiscus flower
"Hibiscus Nocturne"
6x6 inches
oil on wood panel
Another floral, this time using a square format*. Mother Nature figured out that orange and fuchsia pair up beautifully together with this variety of hibiscus. It's based on a photo I took last year in Tucson the day before I returned to CT. In mid-April, the home gardens in the desert are exploding with glorious color.
The bright color of the flower suited itself well for a darker background, which decided it needed to be a nocturne. Moonlight is filtering through some clouds up there in the corner, I think.
*Inspired by the large number of daily painters utilizing this size to paint on, I recently made up a batch (32, to be exact) of panels on a lightweight wood panel I found at our local Home Depot. Unlike the MDF boards I've been using (and still like), this light-weight plywood-composite type board doesn't flex. It is 1/4" thick, making it nice for frameless display as the edges can be painted almost like a mini gallery wrap canvas.
I used a utility knife to carefully score and cut the 12x12" panels I had cut at the hardware store into the 6x6" size. I used wood putty along the sides to give them nice, smooth edges and then used 2 coats of alkyd primer on each, hitting them with a quick sanding after they were dry. I have begun applying a clear polyurethane sealant to the back of both the MDF and these plywood panels to protect against moisture issues and improve durability.
