Drawing Flowers

Drawings without a pencil outline

HI there! It is finally summer holiday here in Norway, and I am looking for something fun and relaxing to do.

I am thinking of something not too difficult,  just something lovely to paint that leads me to the summer mood. In today’s post, I would like to show you something fun to paint. There are no rules, just grab some paint and paper. keep in mind to have fun and that’s all that matters! I got my chilled Sangria and my paints, what more can you ask for?

The style I am doing here is kind of sloppy so, therefore, I suggest that you trying doing the drawings without a pencil outline.  If you are in a learning process I can recommend that you draw like this and skip the whole pencil and the rubber stuff. By doing this over and over I believe you can develop a style really quickly and along the way you pick up a lot of experience. We learn from all the mistakes ……. no mistakes…. no learning

You know you can’t buy confidence, you have to earn it by working and making mistakes, right?  This is how you find your style and achieve confidence.

Supply list for the watercolor painting

• Watercolor paints – I’ve used the  Sennelier French Wc Metal Set Of 24 Half Pans
• Sketchbook – I love the “ Artists MIXED MEDIA” , by Daler- Rowney .  11.7×16.5 inches/ 30×42 cm. I post a link to a sketchbook looking like it is the same but has a different design.
• Paint brushes- I love Raphael Kazan Squirrel Mop – Size 0
• Masking fluid Pebeo Drawing Gum Bottle
• India Ink Pebeo Graphic India Ink, 45-Milliliter
• Micron pen Sakura 30061 3-Piece Pigma Micron Blister Card Ink Pen Set, Black

 

 

 

First step

Find some flowers and lay them around: take some photos, play with them: make something and just have fun. Try to really see them for what they are. I started to draw on the lower half of the paper just because that felt the most comfortable.
• Do the ink drawing without a pencil outline.
• Ink must be dry before coloring.
• Masking fluid: The gum must be dry before you apply paint.
• Paint layer by layer, let the paint dry for every new stroke.

I drew some flowers on parts of the paper with the ink first, and I let it dry before I paint with my lovely watercolors.  After the first two or three flowers, I had to start thinking about the composition of the watercolor painting. I didn’t think to much about it in beforehand. I placed and moved the flowers and leaves freely around until I am happy about the composition and then I drew them where I saw them fit in.

I used a Pigma Micron pen addition to the ink because it gives fine thin line and dries quickly. The Pigma is totally waterproof. The thin lines give a nice contrast to the thicker ink lines.

For some of the flowers, I waited for the under-layer to dry before painting a new layer a tip is to use a warm and a cold color. If you have a look at the flower that is red you will find that I been using a warm and a cold red. (If you are not familiar with colors theory and don’t know about warm and cold colors, don’t worry I have a free course for you. -WOW, Yea?  -yes. I do!  FREE Colours course) The trick is When you are using the warm and the cold red together you will get a vibrant “new” red watercolor and that have some depth.

I love my masking fluid from  Pebeo Drawing Gum Bottle . It doesn’t have the typical problems like the other brands I have tried out over the years. Problems like stinking smell, or covering the delicate tip with a lump of gum and leaving you with a damaged useless brush. But even so, it is always best to use a cheap or old brush for this.

The next few steps

The next steps are pretty much the same.  All you need to do is paint a couple more flowers randomly.  Again spread the flowers you pick around and try different layouts and see what works best for the composition.

TIP In the last phase, when the watercolor starts to come together try this Every now and then or from time to time take a look at the watercolor from a distance for corrections. This is how you really see the composition and colors.

TIP If you are having a problem on this stage, one easy way to tie everything together is to choose a dominant color. What you can do is, for example, take 9 out of 14  flowers and paint them in a similar blue, or try this 10 out of the 14 flowers are in cool colors the other 4 in warm colors.

After that, find a nail and a hammer and get that new art up on the wall! The watercolor deserves to be seen!

 

 

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