Petal Pushers- Painting Hydrangeas in Oil Demonstration

Petal Pushers
12 x 16 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$650

"Petal Pushers" is a painting I created as a "paint along" demonstration in the "Painting Flowers Alla Prima " Workshop I recently taught.   In that workshop, I introduced students to one of several methods I use in oil painting- but I find this approach, which I first learned from Hedi Moran,  is particularly fun and freeing for flowers. I start with a loose transparent underpainting of the subject and then the background till the whole canvas is covered.

At this point the painting is way too garish- but you have to go thru this phase underneath and you'll calm it down with the next round. I told the students it's like going thru the teenage stage- loud and ugly, but you have to get thru it to get to the other side and create something beautiful and colorful.

 Then come in with an second layer of paint on top of that where opaque colors can be used in addition to the tranparents.  You can continue to resolve the painting as loosely or tightly as you desire. Below are some of the steps along the way.    On the first day of the workshop I break down the process step by step and students follow along on the same painting.  On days 2 & 3,  once they understand the process, they bring in their own flowers to arrange and paint.

Upcoming workshops are listed on my website at: http://patfiorello.com/

If you are associated with an arts organization and would like me to come teach in your area, please contact me to explore the possibilities. Thanks!

close up of brush work and colors