It's always good to get your observational skills honed by painting from life, but I'm ashamed to admit that I rarely do so. I don't enjoy painting out of doors, there are too many distractions and the light changes constantly. Last week a single flower snapped from its stem and I brought it inside to paint it quickly, before it wilted.
Wasn't it a stunner? My friend Janet said "that's not a flower, it's a floozy!" and I agree! I went straight in with the paintbrush, no pencil sketch, and was amazed at how well it turned out. I added an invented stem and foliage and here's the result:
