Birthday Tulips 1&2

acrylic on canvas                                                   20x20 plus large gold frame

acrylic on canvas                                   18x24 black frame  with gold accent 

I'm entering one of these in a juried show this week; haven't decided which yet.  They were from hubby for a birthday awhile back.  I painted fast and furious because each day they changed positions - felt like I was painting dancers.  Boy they were hard to photo.  Something about the contrast between the very black background and the bright flowers created lots of glare even when I shot them in a room with no direct sunlight.  Anyone have a trick for shooting these dark colors?

To purchase:  http://www.maryvalente.com/painting.php?pid=birthdaytulips

P.S..  Long ago I found this great entry an art forum -from a painter - Elwell.  Thought I'd pass it along:

Question "How can I hasten drying time on an oil painting?"

Answer:  "How thick a paint layer are we talking? If you've got any impasto then your best bet is to leave well enough alone. If we're talking relatively thin layers, however, there are some old illustrator's tricks. 

Yes, heat works, but you have to be careful. A drawing lamp positioned ~6-8" from the painting should dry it overnight, but only works on relatively small areas. I do know of one illustrator (Rene Milot) who uses those McDonald's fry lights. I've even heard of people putting paintings in the oven at very low heat. In all cases, you want to heat things up just slightly. You don't want a scorched painting (at best), or a burnt-down house!

Thin washes of paint can also be dried with a misting of Krylon Crystal Clear spray. Only do this outdoors or with LOTS of ventilation, as this stuff is pretty nasty. I wouldn't do this on any piece you were intending for the ages, as there is the possibility of yellowing and cracking down the line, but it does work in a pinch.

Finally, you can build a box around the painting out of cardboard or foam core so that it can be transported, photographed, etc. while still wet.

All of these can be avoided, of course, by using some sort of drying medium when you paint."