My goal this week was to paint flowers, a subject I have struggled with since I first started creating art. I rarely paint flowers because they are difficult for me, but they're so beautiful, I had to give it another try. This has become a challenge within a challenge.
12 of 30
Peonies are my favorite flower. I love them so much I included them in my business name. They're so full and fluffy and so incredibly beautiful. Naturally, they were the first flower I painted in the series.
13 of 30
The previous 12 paintings were all done using acrylic paint on canvas. For this flower duo I wanted to try out my watercolor pencils on paper. I had a good time drawing out the flowers, then coloring them in. The next step was the very satisfying process of adding water to the paper to activate the pencil marks, turning them into a watercolor. It's like magic.
14 of 30
The magnolia. My mom's favorite flower, and so far my favorite painting in this series. The green and white really stand out from the black. It almost looks velvety. The inspiration photo was a bridesmaid's bouquet.
15 of 30
I do not like to waste paint, so when I have some left on the palette (not enough to put back in the tube or seal in an airtight paint container) I play around with it on a canvas. That's how this background came about, about a year ago. I threw the canvas in a pile and forgot about it until the other day. It turned out to be the perfect background for the purple trio.
I painted these quickly, which was a lot of fun. I wasn't worried about them being perfect, which took a lot of self-imposed pressure off me. And they turned out so cute.
16 of 30
My sister-in-law travels a lot and on one of her trips she took a picture of a bee on a flower. This little guy is so cute and so very important to the environment.
These adorable little creatures pollinate our food crops. Let's take care of them while they're taking care of us.
17 of 30
On my 14th birthday my mom bought me a small yellow rose bush. We planted it in the front yard and, with the help of my granny, that tiny bush got so big with was the length of my car! And it bloomed year round. It was so gorgeous that people would stop and take pictures of it.
Sadly, Hurricane Opal took her away from me, but I had many years of watching her bloom and I have never forgotten her.
This week has been challenging, but my challenges help me grow.
What I Learned This Week
The more I relax when painting the better my art turns out.
I don't really like painting flowers (but will probably try again because they're so pretty).
Slow down. I am limited on time so this will apply once this challenge is done and on the weekends.
Progress, not perfection.
Behind the Scenes
When I started painting the peonies I noticed just how pretty they looked in the beginning stages.
After I created the background by mixing brown, white, and green, I outlined the basic shape of the flower with white. I could have left it like this with just a few more touchups. I like the soft, vintage look.
Before I started adding layers (and layers) of pink and white, I swiped on quick strokes of pink. Again, I could have stopped here and they would have looked pretty good. I would have needed to add dark and light value for dimension and interest, but they would have worked.
I hope you're enjoying these daily paintings. Even when some are more difficult than others, I am having a lot of fun doing these.
Have a great week!
Rebecca ~
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