Viola

This pansy is the first painting that I did on Claybord*, and scrubbed in colors in thin glazes. The white areas were scraped back to white, and then painted white. The nice thing about Claybord is that the gesso layer is extra thick so it can be painted over and etched back to white without scratching through it. But the drawback is I've seen oil paint flake off more than once, I think the board sucks all the oil out of the paint and the pigment falls off. So now I mostly paint on Gessobord, which is slightly less absorbent and save the Claybord for pencil and ink drawings. 

Viola, 5x7 oil on Claybord,  finished.

Viola, detail, 5x7 oil on Claybord,  finished.

Viola, 5x7 oil on Claybord,  framed, finished.

You can find Viola in the new book "Flowers in Art: Contemporary International Artists" by Cindy Ann Coldiron. It is a beautiful book showcasing all types of flower art from over fifty international artists. The book is available from amazon.com and many other retailers.

*I have not been compensated in any way by Ampersand, I just love their products.

Pansy II

Finally finished and for sale, this is the second small (5x7 inches) oil painting I've done of a pansy flower.

Pansy II, oil on claybord, 5x7 inches, finished.

This is the first pansy that I painted, and it was also the first serious picture I did in this style, thin layers of paint on Claybord. Using less paint makes it easier to mimic the way light passes through thin flower petals.

Viola, oil on Claybord, 5x7 inches, finished.