"June Roses and Tea Cup"

Oil on 5x7 hardboard

I've been trying to focus on putting more thought into the arrangement of values in a painting, and keeping them more defined from each other.   I usually start out ok, but somewhere along the way my values get muddy.  I think it happens when my palette becomes too messy, and all my paint becomes too mixed, and that's how the painting turns out. (In other words, I just get lazy)  This time, I made a little value study on my palette, and focused on sticking to it.  When my palette became too messy with mixtures, I cleaned it off and started with fresh mixes.   I was very happy with how this painting came out.  I'm especially happy with the looseness of it, because it's just the way I envision a painting- not too tight, not too loose.  Every so often I get one that I think is just right.  :-)