Fanciful Flower, watercolor, 7″ x 5″
In her wonderful book Watercolor: Painting Outside the Lines, Linda Kemp has an exercise in negative painting that produces a fanciful flower.
After laying in an initial wash of my three colors, I traced around a stencil with six petals for the flower head. I painted around that layer, using the colors that were already on the paper as a guide for the next layer. Trace, paint, trace, paint, and then imagine some leaves and a stem and another flower further back in the picture plane.
This was a fun painting to do on a rainy day when I couldn’t be outside painting the flowers that are starting to bloom in my garden!
What do you do on rainy days?
Ruth Bailey, artist 
21 Responses to A Fanciful Flower
Oh, it’s lovely!!!
Just having fun playing! You play with words and I play with colors.
This is wonderful Ruth – there is a playful feel and I really like the color choices.
I have some favorite triads that I frequently use. This is a new one, as I was recently given a tube of quinacridone magenta. Phthalo blue and new gamboge round out the trio, although I am tempted to buy a tube of turquoise to try with the magenta.
A very nice combination.
Very beautiful! Thanks for the inspiration. Great colors too.
Yes, I’m really liking playing with these colors. Do you have a favorite combination?
Yes! Purples, mauves and yellows. And I like blues with yellows and orange too.
Sounds like you like the punch of the strong dark colors with the highlights of a complementary color.
You got it! A bit tricky not to make mud, but I love them.
I like the simplicity of your design, wonderful!
It’s a great exercise and you’ve kept the colours very fresh.
Wow! I love this – fresh, clean, cheerful, full of Spring sunshine! Great exercise.
On a rainy day? We’ve had so many! One thing I do not do is watch the grass grow.
Still, it grows, anyway! Ha.
Then a sunny, breezy day comes and dries it enough to mow it again 🙂
Loved the flowers. 🙂
Rainy days are usually high energy days for me.. because I’m unable to go outside/be distracted by the outdoors, I am able to focus 100 percent on my art…
i liked this exercise concept, and your results are great!
Thanks, z! Is there going to be another magic carpet ride anytime soon?
hey ruth! a friend has an opening show on may 1st in denver, and i pondered dusting off the magic carpet and heading in that direction. shall i pick you up?
O! Yes, please! I’ll wear my artsy black dress and bring hummus and veggies to share on the way.
hummus? it’s raining right now, but i don’t care.. i’m heading there now for hummus! i’ll swing over the andes and bring some quinoa..
: )
this is gorgeous!!!