Coloured tones

I was feeling very uncertain about the background of The Open Parrot Tulip. Originally it was going to be BLACK, 17thC Dutch still-life style. Yet I could not quite bring myself to use this dramatic but rather dead ‘colour’. While out for my walk I saw beautiful burgundy foliage, but what stopped me in my tracks was an almost black shrub which only showed a hint of colour in the dappled light.

And as you can see, that was my answer!

I made the dark background colour using W&N Phthalo Green (this name makes me stutter!), which is an intense blueish green and W&N Alizarin Crimson, then varying small amounts of Mars black.