Flower



"Red flower" 6.5" x 8.5" watercolor on Arches 140lb

I had a lot of fun with this flower.  The initial sketch in pencil was deeper in values, but I decided to keep the overall values relatively close.  The background colors (cool greens and blues) were somewhat muted in color but overall the contrast and strength in color were still close.
  

The reference photo did not have a lot of lights and darks, so the goal of this painting was to capture the strong reds and subtle violets.

Yellow Hibiscus

"Yellow Hibiscus" 6.5" x 8.5" watercolor on Arches 140lb paper

This is the second time I painted this flower.  The first attempt although somewhat successful did not have enough strong yellows, deep reds and the shadows were too muted to complete the first painting.  The second and final painting was complete with Watercolor Artist Andy Smith.

Andy Smith is a mentor, and great watercolor artist.  Andy has been painting professionally as a watercolor artist since 1980. I am amazed with the quality and amount of postings on his blog and the amount of art shows he attend every year.  The first time I met Andy and Linda they were more focused on helping me as a person, and artist before I became his student.  

Thank you Andy & Linda for giving me the motivation, advice and support I needed to keep going with my art.

Red Hibiscus

"Red Hibiscus" watercolor on Arches 140lb paper

This Hibiscus was rather interesting photograph for a couple of reasons.  The reds are very strong and saturated in color even the shadows weren’t too washed out or muted.  The light was also strong and appeared white in the photo. 

I am interested in strong light that washes out all local color, detail and appears pure white.  I will eventually complete a series focused on light and darks using juxtaposing and counterchange.  I don’t know if it will be in color or B&W.  

Drawing allows me to slow down to really understand the subject, values, composition and how to play with different techniques to accomplish my goals.    

Reference photo from Sandra Blair http://www.sandrablairphotography.com/.  Sandra Blair is an amazing wildlife artist, photographer and mentor. 

Sandra is currently working on a fund-raising campaign on kickstarter.com “Seeking Refuge: Four Seasons on Assateague Island”.  Her goals are to create approximately 20 paintings of the local wildlife on Assateague Island.  Please join me in supporting her and our wildlife.   

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sandrablair/seeking-refuge-four-seasons-on-assateague-island