Poppies are popping and the rain is a droppin

The weather forecast has some rain, so im spending the morning in my garden…i dont paint a lot of flowers, but these poppies are too beautiful to ignore.

underpainting of plein air poppies by artist ken swinson
The composition is worked out…time for color-this painting is going to be all about color!
plein air painting of poppies by artist ken swinson
I made it this far before the rain arrived. I decided to do something i hate: i took a photo of my subject, to use as a reference
work in progress photo of plein air painting of poppies by artist ken swinson
The rain passed after a few minutes and i avaoided disaster (having to paint from a photo) now im back in the poppy field
plein air painting of poppies by artist ken swinson
Greetibg from under the tree. Its not raining enough yo run for the porch, but do need some shelter… Still havent had to use my reference photo

I almost abandoned this painting, because the weather kept causing interruptions, and it was getting kind of wild, but i finally have it under control, and see a path to finish…its just down to the details. I have a feeling, like most of my challenging ones, it could turn out to be one of my favorites!

plein air painting of poppies with photo of bright red poppies in the background by artist ken swinson
Finished! Poppies-12″x4 1/2 oil on wood panel

Well, that’s a wrap! I stayed dry for the majority of the painting. I tried mixing colors in a way I never have before, and learned a lot with this one…I had some doubts while working, but I think the finished painting is fantastic! I like the dark, rain storm in the top right corner.

plein air painting of poppies by artist ken swinson

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