California Poppies are fun to paint. They have interesting shapes. This is the first piece I tried on sand paper. The sand paper came from the hardware store. I used an extra fine grid paper. The black background (which is the color of the paper) has a dynamic effect.The colors seem to pop from the page. Using sand paper allowed for more sudtle ccolor transitions. There are many shades of orange to yellow within the flower. Paintings on sand paper tend to be very fragile. The paper is not as soft as pastel, cloth or watercolor paper. If mishandled the pastel will flake off. Also, blending the colors is very hard of the finger tips. Enjoy my closeup view of a california poppy.
