Lady Slippers~Update 2

I did so many pours on this I've now got it down to a science. I kept pouring to increase the depth of color and introduce a warmer element...namely the purple. At one point I regreted adding the gamboge to the mix. It began to look muddy and I blamed it on the paint color. I switched from mauve to a mix of Quin. Rose added to my blues and kept pouring. Slowly the muddiness disappeared. I noticed that using the blowdryer on pours wasn't the way to go. They looked much better if left to dry naturally although the waiting is tedious. *Note: Always dry completely flat! Otherwise you get crawlbacks along the bottom where you don't want them* I debated whether to add foliage but the leaves of the lady slipper orchid are so textural and graceful they had to be in the painting.

I'm using Arches 140# HP taped to a board for this project. As you can see, it's still a little buckled but it smoothed itself out incredibly well after each dousing. I borrowed a tip from Nick Simmons and applied a thin bead of masking fluid along the inside edges of my masking tape so no paint could sneak under. I'll see how well that worked when this is completed. At this point I've removed the masking fluid on the painting itself and I'm ready to start work on the flowers. It's overcast today so the image looks a bit grey. I managed to preserve the warm pale turquoise in the upper left corner even though the photo doesn't show this.