With a few hours to spare today I thought I’d attempt the production of a semi-festive, seasonal painting. I don’t know why poinsettias are so closely related to Christmas (perhaps some research might have been in order here) but accepting that they are, I felt they’d make a good subject for a quickie.

The most important aspect of this painting as far as I was concerned was to not get any paint on the living room furniture or floor, for it is here that the poinsettia is currently living and where I chose to make the painting. My studio can be quite nippy and I believe poinsettias aren’t all that keen on the cold. Neither is my wife keen on me getting paint on things, so today I walked a tightrope for art’s sake.

The cardboard visible behind the canvas was there simply to stop light penetrating through the canvas, although in today’s gloom the precious little good light made painting problematic at times (I don’t like painting under artificial light).

Not for the first time, I used this session as an opportunity to practice producing a study rapidly from life. It’s therefore got some rough edges, but it was a useful exercise. It took a little over 2 hours to complete and was painted in Daler-Rowney Georgian oil paints on a basic 12” x 9” canvas.