chamisa

This 6"x6" is probably not finished, but I am setting it aside for now. One of the most plentiful bushes in this corner of the world is chamisa, or rabbitbrush, and I look at several large specimens from my studio. I love its shape and color (our flowers are a pale cream -- elsewhere, they are golden yellow). It is an irresistible subject, and it pulled me away from pure abstraction into this little portrait.

While this may not have gone as abstract as I intended, it afforded a rich exploration of cold wax and its properties. A base of rust hue smoothed on with a dough scraper received a brayerful of sage color, then an arc of cream (using the edge of the brayer). I scratched in directional stems, then added turquoise touches with an oil stick. A bit more sage (in lighter and darker values) applied with a palette knife brought it to this stage. I like it, and my sense this afternoon was to leave it alone, lest I go too far!