Back to the Poppies!

Back To the Poppies!

With a few interruptions in my work, I am finally back to working on my poppies. The background was completed first. After looking at the background, I have decided that I am satisfied with the results and will evaluate after my poppies are complete whether to do any additional work on the background brick/tiles.

Now for the poppies.......

First prepare your palette with all the colors you will need to blend to execute the painting. I used several colors of red as well as orange, yellow (both light and dark), burnt sienna, black and white.

There are two ways to paint the poppies:
-Paint the entire flower first with a base coat of color and then work in highlights and shadow or,
-Paint a few petals at a time, completing the petals as you work.

Both ways are good ways to paint, just find the one that works better for you.

-Using a paintbrush that is smaller than the area you are painting, dab the tip into your mixed paint and rub the excess off of the sides of your brush. Paint the petal or the entire flower this color, except for the stem and any pollen areas. You will want to add shadows to your flower as well as light sources. Figure out where you want the light to come from. Add a little bit of white to your base color for the highlights and a little bit of darker base color and/or burnt sienna for the shadows.

Layering the colors on the petals will give texture and a realistic look to your flowers.

The center of the flower was base coated in a yellow ochre. The surrounding stamens were dabbed in burnt sienna and black.

The painting above shows one of the poppies completed. During the next session, I will finish the one remaining poppy and give instructions on the leaves and stem.

Happy Painting!
Karen





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