It sure was nerve-racking painting the stems on these poppies. I wasn't sure how it was going to go. It is so easy to wreck a painting in the final stages. But to my delight, the stems fit in nicely, weren't too hard to paint, and added to the overall effect of the painting. I love how the stems give the painting depth and make some flowers look tall and others short. Look how long the white poppy in the top right corner seems to stretch high above the other flowers.

Please ignore the added bit of dill showing in the top of the large picture! It really isn’t part of the painting.