Orange Lily

33/52 Orange Lily, 6x6, oil on canvas

I am absorbing the surroundings, taking photos and making sketches. Generally, it feels like exploration and research, which is a dream that only a residency can provide. I know that what I am seeing will turn into something exciting, but I need to process it and figure out what form it will take. Outside of the research work, I am breaking out oils to do challenge pieces. I have become quite hooked on challenges while I am here. It keeps me in the flow, without me engaging my brain and diverting the processing that I am doing over this coastal environment. Today I hit the Plant Paint Challenged and painted it in my glass box sea studio. Interestingly, even though these are photo referenced paintings, I am influenced by my surroundings. When the sun comes out, every color comes alive in Mendocino. My earthy palette keeps shifting to more saturation and today I switched out my Hansa Yellow for Cadmium Yellow. This amazing ocean color, is making me itch for some Pthalo Blue...

Thanks to today's challenge hosts: @pronouncedtyt (my lovely artist friend), @vickimcgrathart and @bekahpaints, for the reference photo.