"The End"



"Poppies"
5" x 7" Original Watercolor
2011© Gretchen Bjornson


Here it is!!  My final painting of the "28 flowers in 28 days" challenge.  It took me awhile to decide on my final flower, but after seeing this image in the Wet Canvas reference library (which by the way are copyright free and free to use) I knew this would be the one.  Poppies are so papery and light and I absolutely loved the colors.  The oranges were brilliant!  I'm pleased to have this as my painting #28.

I have to admit, once I finished, I gave out a huge sigh of relief.....it just felt good to wrap up the challenge.  The last week was particularly tough.  Painting every day isn't easy.  It's even more difficult when you set high expectations for yourself.  I think I did that toward the end and it resulted in a few "not so beautiful" pieces.  It seemed the less I forced the painting, the better the piece.  This quote sums it up for me.....

"Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better." ~André Gide

I do have some final thoughts I've compiled about my experience and will share them in a later post.  Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me and provided warm and supportive comments.  Many more thanks to all the newest followers who found my blog through this challenge.