Rooster Painting-Eighth Day

© Ellen Blonder

I've settled on a bird of paradise flower for the foreground, after considering a heliconia and orchid (see posts below). I like how it mimics the rooster's comb. I'm also laying in the "bones" for the other foliage. I despaired of not photographing enough small banana trees for reference, when, while visiting a friend yesterday, there was the perfect tree in her garden for the upper left corner of this painting. The colors always look flat and awful to me at this point, all the reason I need to keep painting.