This is an Amaryllis. I think thats how it's spelled..:)
Let's see what can be done with this one.

Amaryllis (http://customcabinets.com/CG/Ama18.jpg)

Gary - beautiful flower, beatiful pic.
Fishboy must not be around - I beat him to the 'glass'/plastic look on this one.
Bill C

and, another look
Bill C

Gary just a great picture -- Yup I could use you to take pictures of my garden too!

Bill C. - Hey what can I say "Invest in Plastic! " Love both submissions.

Jeanie I can not thank you enough, the tips you gave me made the light bulb go off in my head! I think I am addicted! :eek:

Here is my painting based on trimoons tut and Jeanie's tips. I seem to go for a more heavy handed brush stroke.

Jill I love your picture. The heavy hand looks good for this flower. I tried smuddgin also. Now I have to work on different backgrounds.

Here's my amaryllis. Got rid of the background, added a new gradient background (Suggestions of a better color?), smudged, added a texture, then smudged a bit more. I've notice on real paintings, sometimes the texure of the canvas is hidden by the brush strokes.

Tyeise

Lacto - Very nice! I like the color you got. Great texture also.

Tyeise - very effective - and I hear you! Canvas is not a favortie of mine it seems so heavy, I like Stucco and Sandstone, you did a very nice job in balancing the canvas.

BillC - that plastic effect works really well with this picture. :D

All-right Jill!! :bigthmb: You go girl! :) I'm so glad my tips were helpful for you. Believe me I understand the addiction! :rolleyes:

Lacto - Great job! :D I'm so glad you're not giving up on this! One very small tip... Don't be afraid to smudge along the edges of the petals. There's a good chance the shape will change slightly when you smudge the edges, but that's OK - it's what helps give more of a painterly look.

Tyeise - Another great "smudged" image! :D I love the color you chose for the background and the gradient is perfect! Also I like how you added space to include the tips which were cropped off in the original photo.

Jeanie

WOW!! These renditions are all excellent. From plastic to painted..:)

I waited until I finished mine before I looked at the other submissions. Some terrific paintings here! The smudge technique has so much versatility to it. It's too much fun.

tyeise and I used almost the exact background...great minds, huh?

Here's mine...