History of Artist Oil Painting "Move Over"

My Notes on "Move Over" Oil Painting

Creating the Composition Scene

Using flowers from each individual state which passed a Move Over Law was added to the composition in this artwork. First thing was to find a listing of the states and gather artist photo references for each flower and place them into a folder. Below on this page you will also find a listing that I used with it's corresponding flower. Each flower is wonderfully unique with their own way of sizes and colors. In time each will be added to the Grid Drawing Pattern page.

Determining the size of the flowers on the canvas needed some math calculations to give each state's representing flower an equal amount of creative artwork area. The total square inches of the canvas was determined and divided by the total number of States. From this an approximate equal size square of about three inches in height and width was determined that could be used for each flower in the composition. A grid pattern to this scale was then drawn on the canvas and placement was begun of each flower.

Considering where each flower was placed in the composition was determined by it's make up. Flowers that have a characteristic of growing from a branch or vine I located to the far right and far left sides of the canvas. By using this method the composition could be framed.

Highway Sign Reference Image

After much thought about the painting composition I photographed a highway sign to incorporate into the artwork. I placed a grid pattern over the sign image that enabled a pencil outline to be transferred to the canvas. Placement of the sign image was made to the top right side of the canvas.

Placing the sign image here will help give the painting depth from the background silhouettes and sky features that will also give depth to the finished oil painting. Up to this point I hadn't learn of Harmonic Proportions. So this should have been done earlier but after drawing the lines for the Harmonic Proportions on the canvas I found the sign rested on three points at it's location. So this is one area where I will focus on using hues and other artsy techniques to paint interest. A change of the sunlights direction will help in the shadowy areas for contrast.

Highway sign reference image for Move Over painting.

Oil Painting Facts, References and Other Information about Move Over Law.

Canvas Size : 24 inches high by 48 inches wide.
States Represented : 49

1 Alabama - Camellia
2 Alaska - For Get Me Not
3 Arizona - Saguard Catus
4 Arkansas - Apple Blossom
5 California - Poppy
6 Colorado - Rocky Mountain
7 Connecticut - Mountain Laurel
8 Delaware - Peach Blossom
9 Florida - Orange Blossom
10 Georgia - Cherokee
11 Idaho - Syringa
12 Illinois - Purple Violet
13 Indiana - Peony
14 Iowa - Wild Prairie
15 Kansas - Sunflower
16 Kentucky - Goldenrod
17 Louisiana - Magnolia
18 Maine - White Pine & Tassel
19 Maryland - Black-Eyed Susan
20 Massachusetts - Trailing Arbutus
21 Missouri - Hawthron
22 Mississippi - Magnolia
23 Minnesota - Pink and White
24 Michigan - Apple Blossom
25 Montana - Bitterroot
26 New Jersey - Violet
27 New Hampshire - Purple Lilac
28 New Mexico - Yucca Flower
29 New York - Rose
30 Nevada - Sage Brush
31 Nebraska - Goldenrod
32 North Carolina - American Dogwood
33 North Dakota - Wild Prairie Rose
34 Ohio - Scarlet Carnation
35 Oklahoma - Mistle Toe
36 Oregon - Oregon Grape
37 Pennsylvania - Mountain Laurel
38 Rhode Island - Violet
39 South Carolina - Yellow Jasmine
40 South Dakota - Pasque Flower
41 Tennessee - Iris - Purple
42 Texas - Blue Bonnet
43 Utah - Sego Lily
44 Vermont - Red Clover
45 Virginia - American Dogwood
46 Washington - Coast Rhododendron
47 West Virginia - Rhododendron
48 Wisconsin - Wood Violet
49 Wyoming - Indian Paintbrush