Forget Me Not

Forget- Me- Not Blues

Each year I adore a tiny flower that is insignificant by size but adds colour to my garden in the least expected of places. It drops seed and flowers at will.  In fact its so like watercolour in that it is free and spontaneous. You can't really control where it seeds or flowers but you can sit back and enjoy its happy accidents of   blocks of colour appearing at will. Each interacting with the existing design of the garden and improving it naturally.

I love this tiny flower for so many reasons. Its history is so sweet in that this little flower was often given to world war heros to remember their sweethearts at home by  It adorned many Victorian cards. The very name " Forget-Me- Not" is so romantic.

And so this morning as my warm up I carried a tiny sprig of this flower into my studio and aimed to capture just its colour not form. I thought it would be easy but it turned into quite a challenge.  I found many of my blue shades far too rich. So a very heavily diluted Cerulean Blue with a touch of violet ended up becoming my final choice for this delicate first wash.

Maybe I love the name because I don't want to ever forget each experience with my brush when I try to paint a subject for the very first time. That thrill of anticipation, then,is always so strong and I often never know what to expect. The smallest of subjects often become the most fascinating of experiments and I am so happy this was mine this morning.

Artist Tip of the Day : Pick up something that you think you know well and try to paint its colour. You may find you are not as observant or as accurate as you first think!

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