Working Larger With Florals

 

Until recently I had been painting in smaller dimensions. Then I had someone ask if I could make these paintings larger. Good question. I had no idea if I could fill up a page with florals and watercolors or not. So I tried. And then I tried some more. And I love it! I did this one last night. I would love to walk you through it. 

This is where I began. Working with Hahnemühle's Collection hot pressed watercolor paper. It worked great and I got a little different look than when I work with the cold pressed. The hot pressed is a smooth surface, no texture. Whereas the cold pressed has texture with all the little bumps and hills and valleys. And that, dear reader, is the extent of my watercolor paper knowledge. Hahahaha! Mostly. This particular paper comes in a block and I work right on the block. I taped the edges of my page so I would have nice crisp borders when my painting was completed. The flowers were drawn using an ultra fine Sharpie. They are permanent and you can paint right over them with no problem. 

I worked with a combination of Schmincke and Daniel Smith watercolors. As I was painting I noticed I had open spaces where I could add more of those little flowers and a couple more of the medium sized. I liked the balance better after they were added. For painting I am loving the Black Tulip brushes from ZenART Supplies! They are my go to brush for everything I paint now. 

I like these paintings at this stage as much as I like them finished. All the areas are filled in, yes, but by continuing with the line work I am able to add more definition to the florals. So I pulled that ultra fine Sharpie right back out of the top drawer and put it to work. 

I went back over all the lines and added details with the Sharpie. Even got to add in some tangles with printemps and antidots. I used a white Sharpie paint pen to add some highlights. And some black Archival ink around the edges to frame my painting. Not too bad for my first "fill up a larger piece of painting" painting. Hahahahaha! Making progress and learning lots. Thank you for letting me share it with you. 

The Collection watercolor paper from Hahnemühle can be purchased here. 

Black Tulip brushes from ZenART Supplies can be purchased here.