This orchid is the final of the set I needed to complete. It is the same Cattleya family to the previous orchid, but just with a wonderful brilliant magenta center. The client wanted me to keep them all similar so I stayed with varieties of white orchids. The background is the same throughout the set of three. I like how the dark offsets the bright white. I don’t like black backgrounds as they tend to be a bit flat so to avoid the black route I mix a variety of very dark blues, namely Indigo, Payne’s Grey and Prussian Blue which gives me this result.

You can see how the painting develops from the photo inserts below…..

Background and leaves completed

White petals completed, and as with most things white they are never a pure white.

Cattleya Orchid
Acrylic on canvas
H 13 X 18 W X D 4 cm

Cattleya Orchid close-up #1

Cattleya Orchid close-up #2

Cattleya Orchid close-up #3

Cattleya Orchid close-up #4

Cattleya Orchid close-up #5