Zinnia: "Color must be felt before it can be seen"

Zinnias/ oil on gesso board/ 6" x 6"/ sold

Using Harold Speed's  "Oil Painting Techniques and Materials" as a syllabus for my oil painting class,  the instruction for this practical exercise was to "concentrate on color and color values. Don't be frightened if you make an awful mess; you can often learn more by doing so, than never launching out but keeping to safe unambitious efforts. Let yourself go"; "color is more purely ecstatic".