Mutant Orchid

One of the things that one should not attempt after several days of painkillers and muscle relaxers is painting. Why? Perception. While I was sketching I thought that the proportions were right between the top petals and the bottom. So I happily started slopping paint around the palette and then the paper. Yes... I know it isn't sloppy. But if anyone remembers that OS episode of Star Trek where the crew was loopy as shit... that is how I wanted to paint. It took 70% of my concentration to NOT act like a sweaty Sulu brandishing a sword. And 30% of my concentration to aim the paint where I wanted it. When I got myself settled down I felt like I was cruising along sucessfully.

Then I got really sleepy. The painting dried over night and I sobered up. And this is what I found....

That bottom petal is HUGE! It is more than just exaggerated. It is grotesquely misproportioned. And you know what really sucks about that? I LOVE LOVE LOVE how the redviolets blended at the base. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE how the dark violet under the stamen makes it stand straight up out of the middle of the petal.

But I can not make up for the poor execution in the original drawing so I will have to start over again. And I think I will have to find another way to compose this one. I like how the gold bottom layer of the frame has spread itself out. But I think I want to go with a circle.

And I have a different background in mind anyway. So I am going to try a blocking technique. I'll draw the whole thing out. But I will cover the orchid and focus solely on the background. I find I get really distracted by the middle stages if I am doing the whole comp. I guess that is  the main difference between acrylic and watercolor. You really can not go on to the next step until the current one is dry.