Dear John: Stargazer Lilly part 4

The past two days I have not painted. Friday was more mega family drama, which hopefully means no family drama for at least a week, right? (sigh) Saturday morning I was supposed to go on a hike with my husband and his friend, but I bailed. I was pretty emotionally drained and ended up sleeping in until almost 11:00.

Husband and friend hiked to Lake Blanche, in SLC. Husband said that it was his most favorite hike ever, probably because he saw a moose. I was a little sad to miss out an such a great hike, however it was probably better that I slept and we are going to go back next Saturday. 

Here are some photos of the hike:

 I did end up working out and cleaning the house, and when he got back we went to my mom's to watch the BYU football game. My newest niece also took her first crawling...shuffles? It was pretty great. 

Today church is cancelled for the rededication of the Ogden Temple, I think? We did not go, because we are lazy, however, I did paint! 

Lilly after about another 3 hours: 

I think that I am just about done with it, even though it is more stylized than I would like it to be. A few things that I still need to do: finish the background, finish the leaves, paint a light purple gray glaze over the bud to help it recede a little bit (and probably add some shadow to lower half as well), decide if I want to add more white to the lower, center petal, and finally add the little dark spots/spikes of color that are so characteristic to a lilly.  

I did end up graying the purple shadows just a bit, which I do like more. I also really like the way the painting looks from about 10 feet away. It looks like an actual flower, which makes me happy, however, as you move closer...not so much. 

In the end, even though I don't super love it, I still feel that it is a solid step towards where I want my art to go.