Waterlilies at night

Waterlilies at Night, oil on canvas, 10x10 inches

The entire time I was painting Waterlilies at Night, I kept muttering sarcastically to myself, "well this is interesting".  I went back to canvas for this one, and for many reasons it slowed me down.  I started out by sketching circles all over the canvas according to the photograph, and it actually made me dizzy! And, as I got more in-depth with the painting, I couldn't figure out if the lilies looked more like green fortune cookies or pac-men :-)

The photo from which I worked had been taken after sunset in a backyard pond. My son won a College Scholarship from the local St. James Art Festival, and the artists were given a nice reception in the backyard of an historic building that houses the foundation offices.  The waterlilies caught my attention as we were walking out, and I snapped a few quick photos.  

Using various tints and shades of the same color does not come easy for me so this subject matter gave me good practice and I have to say, overall it WAS an interesting process.