"C'est comme tu veux, toi." (Literally, "it's as you wish, you" ... the second 'you' gets added for emphasis in French, quite often)

Back in mid-April, I was convinced that I had finished this painting, called "Lucien, Leigh and Jasper," and posted a photo (on April 21st) of it as completed.... and it looked like this:

I brought it into the house and we lived with it for awhile, and I kept thinking that something was wrong. The painting wanted to be worked on, clearly. That's why the post is titled (in the French term) "it's as you wish," because the painting is creating its own desired form (I think) and then letting me know I am definitely not "done."

As I kept looking at the painting,  I saw that there was no obvious "outdoors," exactly, which had been a major part of the point when I started. I needed a "garden" and, last night, I dreamed about peonies. Today at the store, the small bouquet of peonies for sale was so beautiful that I bought it and brought it home.  The flower and its loose petals and bright white color is just amazing to me; I saw my first peony just a few years ago (in a Chinese painting, and so I found photos and then started to see peonies occasionally, in the fancier florist's shops).  So I took my own photos of the bouquet -- the first peonies I have ever bought! -- and now they are part of the painting. This may not mean I am finished, yet (I am learning) but it feels more complete.  Here is the latest version:

So now, "Lucien, Leigh and Jasper" has returned to the living room; if it is happy, it will remain silent... we shall see.