MATERIALS 

Arches 140lb cp water colour paper, your choice of size.

M.Graham Paints .............Napthol Red,  Azo Yellow,  French Ultramarine Blue,  Hookers Green, and  Viridian.

Art Spectrum........ Burnt Sienna

METHOD

After drawing the flower out on my watercolour paper,  I masked out the stamens in the centre.

Let masking dry..

I painted one petal at a time, letting each thoroughly dry before starting the next.

Here's How......................

Dampen the petal and gently drop in the Napthol Red starting at the tip of the petal and applying a light touch to the tip.  Then wash and partially dry the brush and pull the colour down into the petal..   (If you want a pinker bloom use Quin Rose instead of Napthol Red)

Repeat several times.

When I had the colour almost right, I dampened the petal again and lightly scored the veins in with a sharp pointed plastic tool and added one last blush of the watered down Napthol Red..

(when you gently score the paper, you lightly bruise it, and the colour runs into the bruises and creates veins.  Neat aye..  Try this on scrap paper first just to be sure you get it right..  Petal must be damp before you score.)

Continue painting your petals and scoring in the veins. 

On a couple  petals I painted the red tip, and then a very weak wash of French Ultrmarine Blue,  scoring the veins just before the last wash.

Let dry..

To Paint the centre........................

I used Viridian for the centre.  The side of the centre I applied a very weak wash of Azo Yellow to show the reflected colour from the stamens.. 

I mixed Hookers Green and Napthol Red to make my dark for the seeds on top of the centre.

While waiting for the centre to dry,  carefully wet the background area. 

Let soak in a little, and then dab straight pigment into it. 

Let spread out and keep dabbing until you have the desired effect..  You may want to lift soem of the paint with a tisssue if you think it is not as you want, but don't play with the colours too much or it will go muddy.

I used French Ultramarine Blue and Hookers Green for my background.

Let dry..

When totally dry remove the masking from the stamens, I use a rubber frisket remover..

Now paint the centre of the bloom.  

I used Azo Yellow and a rigger brush to paint in the stamens, and when totally dry, added a few swipes of Art Spectrum Burnt Sienna for shadows.. 

I love Art Spectrum Burnt Sienna as it has a gorgeous orangy tinge..

Here is the completed Flower..

CLICK HERE FOR NEXT LESSON.......BLUE DOOR

TECHNIQUES  ...... EDGES SOFT - HARD - LOST

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