My Journey through Art … #8 … It’s all about flowers
It is said that painting is a way of keeping a diary, this weeks post is more like a wander around our garden.
Good morning, and welcome …
“Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing “ - Salvatore Dali
When I first started painting, and I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but I figured flowers should be easy to paint, that is definitely not the case. There are so many angles, twists and turns, shadows and parts to a flower that you never think about until it is time to create, hopefully, the perfect specimen.
I started with a couple of Hibiscus, a few tries with Anemones and Magnolias, then I thought maybe a red Geranium would be good to attempt, closely followed by a Poppy, and not just a Californian Poppy, but something more like an Oriental Poppy.
A lot of what I did wasn’t on the best paper which always makes it more difficult, and I remember calling into an art shop and when speaking to the owner I showed her what I had been working on. She was quite critical about my brush strokes, saying I was overworking the piece, I didn’t take it to heart because I knew she was correct. It is probably something I still do, one reason I guess very few of my pieces are what is referred to as ‘loose’.
Part of learning how to paint with watercolour is to remember you always start from light to dark, and if you want a soft look you need to balance the water. It is a bit like Goldilocks and the three Bears, not too little and not too much.
You may want it to be that the colours blend into each other or you want soft edges on the flower. It may be that you should have left dry paper around the object, or if you have it, use masking fluid. At times if you have too much colour in a petal, using a damp brush you can ease the colour out, but you will never get it totally white again, which is the reason for much care when you are wanting to show hi lights.
There are many artists who, before doing their final painting will do a sketch, paint on a smaller scale to get the colours right and everything into perspective THEN do the final painting. Joyce Hicks is well known for this, she is not into flowers so much, but landscapes and buildings, never filling in the page with everything she sees in her photo, and ends up with a brilliant piece of art. I have her book Painting Beautiful Watercolour Landscapes which I thoroughly enjoyed reading and is a great teaching book. Photo below shown with permission. As you can see, she creates beautifully with just an idea.
Joyce would be happy for you to join her on Facebook, Instagram and also her Webpage.
https://www.jhicksfineart.com/
Further down the track I painted a Tulip, a stem of Hollyhocks plus two very simple pieces in a pale grey creating Poppy seed pods and a few small stems of leaves. Albeit in one colour they are quite effective, just like a bunch of Proteas I did. And just for fun I did a pen and watercolour piece of a selection of flowers.
Next was a series of Waterlilies. These came about due to a visit to beautiful gardens up in the Dandenongs, namely Blue Lotus Watergarden. Our daughter in law asked if I would paint a couple for her to put in her new home. She was happy, that was the most important thing. The first two are the ones I gave her.
I decided to paint two more Proteas then went on a totally different tack.
Next week is a bit of a mish mash, Covid hit and I lost my mojo…
So until next time you Come Away with Me on My Journey through Art.
Bye for now
Sally 🎨
Your flowers are lovely and you have painted such a variety! You are correct in that flowers, whether they are loose or precise, are not as easy to paint as one would think. Your florals show you have a keen eye for colours and composition. Well done Sally!
I love seeing the progress pictures, it’s so fascinating how we can start from nothing to a beautiful art. Thanks for sharing, your lovely flowers, Sally 🌺