Close-Up of Daffodils in a Vase

I wanted to work on the daffodils because they’re just a blur in my last painting. I did this on an orange-toned 5×5 wood panel, and actually traced the reference image (which I got from Ali Kay‘s Fresh Paint site) on to the panel, adding most of the detail. I had hoped it would help. Alas, it’s still a case of garbage in-garbage out.

I debated even posting this, but decided to go ahead, as I understand from my classes that painting is really all about solving problems. As a beginner, I’m definitely not doing a good job of solving this one! I’m posting an over-saturated copy of the zoomed-in reference image I used as a means of comparison.

I intend to paint more daffodils; perhaps I’ll try a frontal view first. And then tackle this one again. It’s easy enough to see errors in this comparison.

Daffodils in a Vase

This painting done on an 8×8 canvas is from a reference photo at Fresh Paint, an online art class/community led and taught by Ali Kay. In her lesson for this painting, which I scanned briefly, she didn’t mention the source of the photo. It may have been one of her own; I searched Pixabay and Unsplash, and did not find anything similar.

Although I used the template from Fresh Paint and traced it on to the canvas, I still didn’t get the flowers right. Will have to try again.

Beach Boy.. after Ali Kay

I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m a VIP member of Fresh Paint, an online art class/community led and taught by Ali Kay. This painting, which I did on an 8×8 canvas, is based off a template and black & white reference photo that I downloaded from the Fresh Paint site in December 2024. (I can no longer find it on that site!)

In any case, I had already toned this canvas with an orangey pink; Ali Kay uses a magenta as her background. Basically, I copied her painting as far colors are concerned. For the skin color, I used Raw Sienna by Liquitex, mixed with Titanium White. The blue is Light Blue Permanent, in Liquitex Soft Body format.

Toddler Wearing Bunny Ears

This was done on an 8×8 canvas panel in shades of Golden’s Burnt Umber and Liquitex Raw Sienna. The actual color of the background is not turquoise, but rather a mint green (Phthalo Green Blue Shade and Titanium White) along the lines of the green color in the Adobe “Cutouts” image below.

I cropped the original photo to focus on the face, then used the Cutouts option within Adobe Photo Essentials, and then transferred the image to the canvas panel. What is most off from the photo is the nose and mouth; I’ll have to redo that and see if I can make it more exact to the contours of the child’s face.

Photo by Zena Ghosn on Unsplash