Richard,
Thanks for the compliment. The flowers were little blobs of paint in the right place and the correct value. The dress was painted first and the flowers were applied over the dried dress color.
Scumbling was addressed several months on a thread a short while back.
http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...ight=scumbling
I spend a full day in my workshops and classes demonstrating this technique. To describe it adequately would require more than a couple of paragraphs.
Scumbling is essentially the layering of thin translucent layers over existing paint. It allows what's below to come through. It unifies and can be used to intensify the feeling of light. It is similar to glazing except that white paint is in the mixture. Glazing darkens what is below scumbling lightens.
Hope this helps.