New sunny painting "Happy bunch"

"Happy bunch" (acrylic on canvas panel; 6"x6"/15cm x 15cm)

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A small floral painting

As I promised myself, I'm starting a new series of floral paintings. I'm painting a large painting for an upcoming show in September (a picture of painting in progress you can see in my previous post). Yesterday I started working on a small one. Here is a picture of it in development:

Progress on big floral painting

I have made some progress on the big floral painting: color-blocked the flowers shapes and started detail work on lower flowers.

"Solitude" (acrylic on canvas panel; 6"x6"/15cm x 15cm)

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"Seaside" (acrylic on canvas panel; 8"x10")

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Rocks and crashing waves

Here is some more progress on the seascape. I realized that I really enjoy painting crashing waves! Looks like I found a new favorite subject and I'll be practicing more with new seascape paintings.

A big floral painting under development

Recently I've been following my friend Victoria from university in Moscow who has become a successful wedding organizer and florist. Her floral compositions continuously inspire me and I've promised myself I'd start painting flowers in the nearest future. Last weekend while sorting my reference materials for new paintings, I've found photographs from floral exhibitions and contests that I visited in the past years. That was the last drop that overfilled my cup of desire and I'm starting series of floral paintings.
Here is a process of development of a new large (30"x30") painting.

New seascape in progress

I have started working on a new seascape with a wave crashing on rocks.

Plein air painting experience

My plein air painting experience was invaluable and I wanted to share it with you. Fresh air, vivid colors, real objects. I've learned and continue learning so much from painting on location. Lesson #1: always use sunscreen! I got burned very quickly. Lesson #2: light and shadows are moving fast so I need to speed up my painting process to capture the moment. Lesson #3: learn colors to mix the right ones quickly to paint faster. Lesson #4: use viewfinder to easier determine composition and crop the image. Lesson #5: make a plein-air-list of things to bring like paper towels, water, extra canvas, bags, etc. I'm sure there will be many more lessons as I continue painting outdoors.