I met sweet little Fleur, by the  Westfalen Stallion ‘Freestyle’ last fall. I quickly noted her refined features, delicate and feminine. I did a few pencil studies of her, then her owner requested a small oil painting.

When i’m doing any commission, I like to get a personal feel for my clientele’s taste.  In this case, my client is an editor in the field of home design, when I asked her what her style was, she replied ‘Farrow and Ball’. Coming from my professional background of Interior Design, I immediately knew where she was coming from.

If you aren’t familiar, Farrow and Ball is a traditional paint manufacturer. Their paint colours are all softly muted with hints of grey. A beautiful array of colours!! I picked up a colour deck and started planning my palette. Gold Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, Naples Yellow, Yellow-Grey, Paynes Grey and Titanium White.

I wanted the overall feel of the painting to be soft. Quite a contrast from the last painting I did of Beckon and not like any painting I have produced yet! I focused creating soft edges, working them wet-into-wet and took great care in gently blend the overall look of the work.

Here she is at the end of the day today. I’m about to call this finished…Overall, I’m happy with the results and initial report back from client is, she is too! phew!

Links of interest –

Simply Country – Blog by Erin McLauglin, Editor Canadian Home and Country & Canadian Gardening

 Westfalen Stallion ‘Freestyle’

Previous Blog post on Fleur with Pencil Studies

Farrow and Ball Traditional Line of Paints