365 Paintings in 365 Days #47

Strawberry

5x5 inches. Oil on Board

Learning Points:
1. It is difficult to get smooth lines with a little brush whilst trying to do details.
2. Light to dark transitions. In order for the stem to show, I had to make it dark against the light leaves and light against the dark background
3. Working with a dark background (and this image is a little darker than the original, and the grey is a little warmer that what I see on my monitor) I first painted in the green leaves with a softer green grey, but they got lost against the grey background, so I had to add more color. And, the reds were very intense and I had to grey them down a bit. The reason is the dark grey background is a dark grey/green.
5. Painting on a light background. I started with a lighter background and was not comfortable with it. Mayabe because I worry my painting sins will show more, and I feel I am hiding with the darker one. I am going to force myself to do another one tomorrow like it but on a very light background.
6. Blending edges into the background. I wanted the leaves to look delicate, and the soft blending into the dark was perfect, I wonder if it be the same effect on the lighter background tomorrow.
7. Strawberries are hard to paint. I have painted them before and struggled with them. They are like a mathamatical problem .... where to put the seeds?