Peonies with Three Blacks

I'm pretty relaxed about this because I'm in the pilgrim mode. This is what I have decided about the flower part: it should be figured out before you load up your brush with paint, and then established quickly with the fewest possible strokes. Not that I did that, but I can see the necessity of it, so maybe next time... One of the most fun parts in this painting was setting up the dark background and foreground and then distinguishing the temperature of the blacks. I looked at Stanley Bielen and Celia Reisen for instruction.