I blocked in this painting on Monday, but only got back to working into it again, today. I began with a bright zingy permanent rose oil ground. It proved to be a nice base to work the tulips into, giving the white's more warmth. I focused on the overall pattern and was conscious of trying to find a warm balance between the foliage and individual flowers. The top background shape(which in reality is a lake, but reads here only as a large horizontal) has changed many times while I painted... a soft green tone, then a lilac shade, a neutral, and now it currently reads more of a gold than anything else...I was looking for a tone that harmonized with the rest of the painting, but did not come forward. It may yet change. Now that I've posted this in it's half-way state, I see that the lampost to the right of the couple on the bicycle built for two is on the lean...ooops!...funny didn't notice that while I was painting! Ah, I will fix it next session!
