I wanted to do show some of Karlyn Holman's techniques. My main purpose was to do the opposite of the daffodils: paint a light background first; and lay in the color washes and then shade the flowers.
But first, here is an idea for your daffodils. If you want to, you can use a stencil and a damp sponge in the dark of your background to create interest. Just tape the stencil where you want it, then wipe with a clean sponge, blot with towels. Some of the color from underneath shows up through the black.
Second, I wanted everyone to prep a piece of paper for our last lesson, a very loose floral.
You will need some watercolor paper--this is a time to use that cheaper paper. Cover it with gesso, and while the gesso is wet, lay wrinkled tissue or rice paper over it. Press down, trying to get wrinkles in it for texture. Then cover the entire thing with gesso again.
I made two: one with clear gesso over a tissue with a little print. The other, I tore small pieces of tissue and only laid them where I wanted to put a poppy flower. (You can select where you want texture this way) Then gesso over the page. Let it air dry for 24 hours.
Clear gesso over print tissue
regular gesso with tissue placed only where I want texture
So on with today's lesson: beginning a rose Karlyn Holman style.
The first thing we did was draw the rose, and lightly erase lines.
Then tape around where you want a border to be. (This step can be done AFTER the rose is painted, but I wanted to show doing it first. The effect is different)
Here is the pattern from two roses from my garden. The dark is for if you only want one simple rose. The green you would add if you want both roses. The pink frame line is where to put tape for the frame.
After taping off the frame, wet the paper and lightly drop in color, avoiding the place for roses. If SOME of the water/paint seeps into a leaf or rose, that's fine, as long as there are no hard edges. Leave whites.
When the background is dry, remove the tape gently.
Then choose a warm and a cool Red. I am using permanent rose and quin coral.
I wet the petals all at one time, and painted in a pale cool pink. While it was still wet, I dropped in the warm pink (coral) in the centers where the flower color will be warmer.
When that is completely dry, I began separating the petals from each other. The paint is more of a cream consistency. I wet the area, painted the dark against the edge where petals meet, and let the color fade into the body of the other petal.
Here I've done the inner petal and one outer petal.
Continue separating the petals. Use warms toward the center of the flower and cools on the outer petals.
Next week: finishing the flowers and working on leaves.
