Drama Queens

Drama Queens
8 x 8 Oil Painting
 by Pat Fiorello
$250

 


I recently painted "Quiet Moment" shown below and then wondered what the same flowers would look like with a dark background.  The result is the painting above, "Drama Queens".

 The original version with the light background gave more of a quiet pensive or possibly even lighthearted feel. Simply changing the value of the background made a significant change in mood. The dark background added a lot of contrast and more dramatic lighting effects.

Often my students will paint flowers and then at the end try to decide what to do with the background, but I stress the importance of deciding on your background upfront since it has such a major impact on the overall painting. It effects not only the mood but the overall value and color relationships in the painting.  Generally, you'll either have light flowers agains a mid-tone or dark background or mid- dark flowers against a lighter background. The same mid-tone flowers can look either light or dark depending on the background they are in front of.


If you'd like to learn how to paint flowers in oil in a fun and easy approach,  please join me for my upcoming workshop "Painting Flowers in Oil Alla Prima". May 4, 5 & 6th at the Booth Museum Art Academy in Cartersville, GA.

Learn more , click here... 

Quiet Moment
12 x 12 oil painting