White Peonies and Vase

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First came the lilacs, and then, the peonies! You have to paint peonies swiftly because their blossoms are quick to open and even quicker to drop off.  In fact, I worked on the flowers first and the next day,  when I got back to finishing up the tea cup and silver creamer, all that remained of the peonies was a little heap of soft white petals.

Orange Slices

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I had so much fun with this one. It amazed me to observe how those oranges literally changed color in response to the colors I put around them in the reflections, the background and the foreground. It only underscores the importance of setting the color, saturation and temperature of the painting's focal point first and then moving on to painting other aspects of the piece in support of those initial choices.  Otherwise, you can just chase your tail!