Waste Not, Snowdrop!

Snowdrop appearing

Negative Technique

I am reading some wonderful emails from readers of my blog and books letting me know how much my step by steps are enjoyed. Thank you so much to everyone who has contacted me and as I am slowly catching up with replies you should hear from me personally very soon.

For now, just a small tip that helps me get started each day. Keep a few scraps of paper so that you can start each painting session with a fun daily exercise. This morning I loved painting negative shapes around snowdrop flowers. Leaving the white petal shapes on my fresh paper I worked around them using  different colours from my palette.

The above small exercise was achieved with French Ultramarine Blue and touches of Quinachridone Gold  to warm up the very cool  appearance. I left random dots of white paper to give a sense of snow falling or movement in the area around the flower.

With very little detail this can later turn into a finished small piece but how about taking your study further? On a new piece of paper paint a cluster or row of snowdrops. Use salt on the background wash to create texture. How about using cling film in the foreground to add leaves or stem shapes? What about working with orange or pink in the background instead of blue and violet?

When you start thinking about how to paint snowdrops the possibilities are endless!

Have fun, enjoy creating and imagine you are seeing beautiful snowdrop flowers swaying in the breeze,with their tiny heads bobbing now and then.  Aim to capture this life and freshness in your results.

Happy painting!