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Flowers Continued, Flower Examples, colours and shapes 

In the previous example a daffodil was chosen, this demonstrated the idea of using measuring, geometric shapes and angles to construct the drawing of the flower with perspective. As mentioned, flowers come in many different arrangements and shapes, which are very different than a  daffodil but the process of constructing a drawing is actually much the same. On this page there are several more examples of different flower shapes and colours to provides a range of different flower types, these examples comprise of mostly videos to demonstrate the process of painting to give an overview of the process involved for different flowers types. 

Daisy type flower, Asteraceae Family: The Gerbera: Orange

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This is one of the largest of the plant families which is typically associated with a flower comprising of a composite flower head with inner (disc florets) and outer (ray florets) flattened disc shape, the example here is a  Gerbera which is a classic daisy shape. Note that flowers in this family can look different and some contain only disc florets (thistles) and others only ray florets (dandelions)

 

Looking at the flower face on it is made up of two circles and in perspective requires two oval shapes, but to complicate matters the petals are curved and overlapping. To demonstrate how to draw this flower a document is included, which can be downloaded. 

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gerbera tilt 2.jpg

Colours 

Orange flowers have a number of colours, yellows, pinks and reds, sometimes violets are present in orange flowers! so you have to look very carefully for the range of colours. Taking the flower above as an example I have extracted a number of colours.

 

Decisions have to be made about which order these colours should be applied and how to apply. In this flower I decided that it was worthwhile  painting in the red orange colour to establish some form first, as it's very easy to get confused with so many petals, so I began with the outer ray florets, painting in the ridges and shaded petals in between and underneath, and leaving the lighter parts white, this can be seen in the first video. 

gerbera colour_edited.png

Thereafter, the orange and yellow orange is added over the initial form painting to create an orange biased colour, the center disc florets are plotted in the same way, with underlying colour and finally the depth and detail is added with darker mixes and by using dry brush techniques. 

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So , while the basis colours may be different in a flower the approach will be much the same regardless of the colour, what's important is to be able to identify the range of colours at the outset and to understand how they will work when overlaid. Experiment with your colours beforehand by making colour charts related to the specific flower you are painting rather than copying the colours directly from instructions as you will need to 'train your eye' to 'see' the colours within a subject..

TIP

Protect the area surrounding your painting using tracing paper with a hole cut out for the subject, this avoids dirty marks, paint splashes and oils from you skin marking the paper.

The remaining examples are videos providing examples of different coloured flowers and approaches

 

Inflorescence with Multiple Flowers: Agapanthus:Blue

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A flower head with multiple flowers is more challenging, in this video I deal with the opening flowers of an agapanthus as an introduction to the concept of dealing with multiple overlapping flower buds. Drawing this subject is actually much the same as with other flower, simple plot the whole flower head within in a box for height and width and then plot each flower or bud individually by using measurements and connect to the main stem.

 

The main challenge here is separation of parts when painting, so light, shade and colour are all important. A key concept with many subjects is to keep parts nearer to view more saturated and detailed whereas those further away are less saturated and detailed.  Of course the light direction also plays a key part as you will see in the video. 

 

The colour is blue with generally shifts from pinks to purples and you will see this demonstrated in the video with the variation in colour and saturation. 

 

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Rounded Flower Head with Multiple Petals and Markings: Opening Peony: Pink 

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This next video demonstrated a peony, which is opening, this is a flower with multiple petals, which unfurl from a tight rounded bud as it opens. This is a pale pink flower which can present the beginner with a challenge and the most common issue is that the flower ends up too strong in colour and this video deals with the colour and saturation needed to create a pale pink subject.  

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Multiple Petals and complex flower center: Rose: White 

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This next video demonstrates a white rose, this is one of the most challenging colours to paint, the key to success is to avoid grey, instead focusing on the very pale (and therefore dilute) colours within the flower. The other point to consider is that white can vary significantly in different flowers and even within the same flower, some white flowers have a slight violet bias, others may be pink, yellow or green biased. In addition white reflects surrounding colours, so your lighting on the subject will greatly influence the outcome, shadows may be warm neutrals, violet or blue biased, you will need to pay special attention in identifying the colours in a white flower and will need to apply paint very lightly initially painting in the form first. Cast shadows can be very helpful in creating depth and separation so remember to spend time on lighting your subject well as shown at the beginning of this course.  

Check back shortly as I will be adding a couple more videos demonstrating different coloured flowers 

This website and all of its content, unless otherwise specified, is copyright of Dianne Sutherland (2012)

  • Dianne Sutherland Artist
  • BotanicalSketchbooker
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