How this still life evolved

I started out with this rather pathetic setup. The rose was dying, and I’m working against time. I loved the light on the vase, and the colors in the rose, but not the pine table top. This is when I decided to improvise.

 

 

I laid in the grey background first, then proceeded with the rose, and suggested the vase.

The more I defined the rose, the more I liked the suggestion of the vase. I sort of liked the realism against the more free form. 

I then filled in the vase imagining what it would be like if the pine side table were dark. I did not like the vase filled in. To me, it lost the spontaneity

So I went back to suggesting the vase with simple line where the light hits the curves and edges. I put in reflections of the rose to bring more color to the vase, and to draw the eye down. I want you to know that I spent, probably, the most time on that little line in the upper lefthand corner of the base of the vase. It’s truly amazing how a small dot can change the weight or balance of a painting.