I planned to paint a vase with cut flowers. I realized that the stems of cut flowers do not look the same in air as they do in water. So, I did this tutorial practice of stems in water. I was amazed at how much the stems seem to angle once they are in water. This was an Anna Mason tutorial and I really enjoyed do it! I thought it turned out to be pretty on its own, even without the flower heads.
My takeaway on this paintings is the necessity of seeing accurately what is there. If I don’t observe closely the stems above and below the water the picture will not look correct. It may be nice to look at but somehow doesn’t look right.