June 19, 2010 - Day 313

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Last of the poppies and last of the flowers I think. Time to move on to something else.

June 18, 2010 - Day 312

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I liked yesterday's poppy so much I thought I would do a series! I just love this bright red against the dark background.

June 17, 2010 - Day 311

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Since I have been having such great success with my flowers I thought I would try another flower that I love but have never been able to paint properly. I think these huge red poppies are just amazing because of the bright red color with the dark purple centers.

I am happy with the brightness of the colors. If you have been following my progress you will remember that one of my frustrations is getting the colors bright enough. I realized with the California Poppies that I needed to use almost straight rather than try to build up the color with a lot of thin washes.

The red of this poppy is Napthol Red (Mid-Tone) basically straight from the tube with very little water added. I created the light areas by lifting the color with clear water and a tissue. The darker red was created by adding a touch of dark green to the Napthol Red. The purple was created by mixing Napthol Red and Cobalt Blue.

June 16, 2010 - Day 310

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I like the simplicity of this flower and the way the bands of dark and light create the form of the petals.

June 15, 2010 - Day 309

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I love California Poppies and have always wanted to capture the bright cheerfulness I feel when I look at them. I had gone on a walk-about last week and taken more reference pictures of poppies in bright sunlight. When I decided to paint the poppies today I had forgotten that I had attempted them in September - two days before the roses in yesterday's post.

I love the way today's painting turned out and it was exactly what I was hoping to achieve.

June 14, 2010 - Day 308

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

What a difference 8 months has made in my art! On September 27, 2009 - Day 48 - I attempted to paint a rose (top picture) and failed miserably. Tonight I painted another rose and the results are so much better. The funny thing is that from what I can remember I used the same technique to paint both roses.

I think the difference is that over time and with experience I have learned how to see the form and subtle value changes that I was unable to see before. My first rose painting was like a child's drawing. You could tell what it was suppose to be but it didn't look realistic because it lacked the correct value and form.

I used to think that if I wanted to get better at painting a certain subject that I would have to paint that subject over and over again. I realize now that the subject isn't as important as seeing value, contrast, shadow and highlights. By improving in those areas I was able to improve all my paintings.

June 13, 2010 - Day 307

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

For tonight's painting I used a two different techniques to paint the flower. For the dark purple petals I started with a dark wash and then lifted the color using clear water. The white petals and centre of the flower I built up the color with multiple washes.