The Vase of Flowers

The roses are beautifully brought to life in this painting.

- Ann Morton

STEP ONE

When I am starting a big painting I like to take a day arranging different flowers, vases, backdrops, lighting, and tables until I find a composition that excites me.

STEP TWO

I rub in a thin background, establishing a suitable under colour for the detail that is to come. In this case I have then rubbed back the areas for most of the main roses. (At this stage I do not have the roses that I will be painting.)

STEP THREE

The next morning I will start adding fresh roses to my vase, working in small areas so I can capture how they interact, the reflected light, leaves, and overlapping. I paint very directly here, mixing and putting down colour as I see it, exactly where it is, finishing as I go.

I find it essential to use the best quality oil paints I can find, using colours from a few different ranges to get the pure colours I am after. It is very important to keep the edges soft where the object is going away from you, using sharp detail to draw the eye.