This is what I was looking at while trying to paint the picture (below). Little Miss America and Picasso love toying with my flowers, dipping their paws into the saucer, nibbling the leaves and finally tipping everything over! I included this photo to let you know that there is often an interesting little story that goes along with each painting.

"White Cyclamen #2" -- oil on stretched canvas -- 10x20" -- Margie Guyot

This is the second painting I've done recently, using this beautiful white cyclamen. It just keeps blooming and blooming! The shop I bought it in said to always keep water in the saucer and never water from the top. I'm amazed at how that thing sucks up the water!

And I've used this tablecloth before a couple times as well. It's quite a challenge to draw in and get the perspective right. I'm still not sure if I have it right yet. Painting and looking down on my subject as I do, it is rather difficult sometimes to give the feeling of proper aerial perspective. There is a fascinating drawing/study by Edgar Payne that I want to copy. In it, he draws a series of circles, supposedly lying flat on the ground, continuing all the way out to the horizon line. The circles become obelisks as they recede. I need to study that example and try to replicate it as I think it would be helpful.

And it was rather challenging to paint white flowers on a white tablecloth and get them to "read". The more I looked at the white tablecloth (which was quite wrinkly -- I refuse to iron it!), the more towards an ochre-tone it became.

Why did I chose this format? There is a call-for-entry coming up for "things 10x20", in honor of the year 2010.