birgit o'connor class in progress ...

Working on the magnolia painting that attracted me to Birgit's online classes ...
It's difficult for me to be patient and wait for sections to dry, so I have some wobbly edges where she has crisp ones. But I like being able to take this up and paint just a few pieces if that's all I have time for (which has been the case this week).

The actual painting, a la Birgit, is a bit anticlimactic, though it's a pleasure to see the subject emerge.
The important part is what she does beforehand: evaluating and manipulating the reference until she has a pleasing simplified design--that is the thing I am learning in her class that I most hope to apply to my own original paintings.