Not A Wallflower!

Wallflower Study

I must admit some old sayings really puzzle me. How can something so beautiful like a wallflower be used in a negative expression. Which I think the meaning of the saying " She felt like a wallflower" meant?

I plant wallflowers every year in our cottage garden. There is a feeling of excitement planting something that you know very well will not  flower until the following year. You have something colourful to look forward to. Like knowing there are many new colours I haven't tried yet but I am still looking ahead to when time allows to do so.

Today I wandered around my garden and picked a small wallflower that was way passed its' best. I carried it into my studio where it is far warmer and played with a little colour study. The petals are rich and velvety. I often place tubes of colour next to my real subjects to give me a clueas to how they will match. As in the above image.

I found Daniel Smith Quinachridone Gold perfect to add a boost of energy to my colourful study. It merged well with Cadmium Yellow for warmth. I have allowed watermarks to create patterns for petals rather than my fiddling with adding details. The freshness in this little exploration is exhilarating and prepared me for more serious paintings which I am working on for galleries.

Wallflower study painted with my Jean Haines Personal Size 10 brush

I have had a lot of questions about the paper I use.It is Saunders Waterford 300lbs mainly for gallery work and Bockingford 140lbs for studies or experiments.

My brushes are available from Jackson's Art Supplies or directly from Rosemary's Brushes.

I have a wonderful blog post to share on Quinachridone Gold and why I am so happy I am trying the Daniel Smith range carrying this colour. But that story is for another blog post!

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Well done to everyone trying their hand at painting roses in a loose style following my blog post. To be very honest I would rather not state how long ago it was that I first started teaching painting roses this way! But I am so glad I did. Lets' just say it was a pretty long time  ago!