"sunflower #3" • 24" x 24" • available for purchase at http://www.mariescottstudios.com • © 2010 Marie Scott Studios

This painting is just about finished. I am going to add more little streaks of blue paint to the center, in order to help make it look more 3-dimensional. I'm using the same color blue that I used in painting the sky, to help tie the composition together. In reality, the sunflower doesn't have any blue highlights in its center. I have just found that adding touches of blue to shadow areas helps to deepen the contrast without making the painting feel too "dark."

Sunflower #3 is done! I added another layer to all the areas that weren't sky or the sunflower. If you look closely you'll see the difference between this photo and the previous one. I'm submitting Sunflower #3 to a juried exhibit called "Greenville Seen." It's supposed to be inspired by something in the area. I'm giving it the title "Furman Flower" since it was growing in the gardens of Furman University.