12x16 oil on canvas plein air
The color combination was too much to resist. The bearded blue irises bloomed in the spring each year and I finally decided to try them. As the individual flowers bloomed I would put them in the painting. I was not at all satisfied with the result. The almond blossoms were not right. The next spring came and I thought I would try again. 
The natural tendency when painting is to look at specific colors.  Impressionists learn to look in a general sense to see the entire scene or a grouping of colors.  This results in a rapid application of color sequences.  A fragmentation of colors instead of a smooth modeling is the result.  Seeing the entire painting on which one is working, is seeing in a general sense, and seeing the part one is working on by itself is seeing in a specific sense.