Dancing Poppies Watercolor Painting

I meant to highlight each of the poppies watercolor paintings.  In the series of four paintings completed together, I shared each in a post of its own.  All except this one.

It's really no wonder; I've felt a bit scattered and disorganized lately.  My success in managing so many aspects of the art process varies with life's seasons.  I'm still learning how to keep it all together between artistic pursuits and family needs.

Bear with me, I'm finding the rhythm.  Maybe like learning a complicated dance step?


I would like to present Dancing Poppies, the completed watercolor painting!  It was completed in late February 2016.  The original watercolor painting is available on Etsy in my Christy Sheeler Artist shop.  (This post added April 2016.)  

Along the way, as the blog develops, I'm enjoying being able to share behind-the-scenes views of the process, like a virtual studio tour!  Hey, I'm so glad you had time to drop in today... Can I offer you something to drink, iced coffee, water, green tea?  Let's get started, it's just so fun to have friends stop by with eagerness to see the art studio.

Sketch It Out 

So this painting began as a simple value sketch with Sharpie fine point black marker.  You can see there's a vague and loose feel to the sketches.  Using a black and white print of the photographs helps me see the range of values from lightest to darkest areas.  This is not a regular habit of mine and I'm still deciding whether I'll use it on a regular basis.  I've got a feeling I'm already doing this subconsciously in my planning process.  The composition of this piece is not one that follows the traditional rules.  Without realizing it, I have a composition that breaks rules.

A Photograph for Reference

The photo reference I used for this piece with one change:  the flower at the left is reversed and placed at the far right.  This was a bit of a challenge when it came time to paint it with the light coming from the top left.  The light striking the petals needs to be consistent for all the flowers.  Mind bending?  Yes.  I still do it to myself anyway.

Tracing Paper Has The Details

Tracing paper has become my favorite for sketching.  It's easy to draw in a detailed way and erasing is effortless.  Now, with the sketch for Dancing Poppies, clipped to the board, I can transfer it to the watercolor paper with a sheet of carbon transfer paper sandwiched between the layers.

Let the Watercolor Do Its Thing

The first washes of watercolor pigment are soft and loose.  I begin with the background for this piece.  Where I begin varies with each painting.  There are some that begin with the main subject.  Here, I had such joy in working on wet paper, allowing the pigment to flow where it pleased.  When I am concerned about pigment moving into delicate petal areas, I apply masking fluid while the paper is dry.  I applied masking fluid in stages so that stems and leaves had a soft wash of the background as their base color.  It's much easier to be free and spontaneous when I don't have to work carefully around details.

In the background, the other three watercolor paintings in the poppies series are resting on the easel.  I have them there to study at a glance.  If there are problems, I'll usually notice them in passing more than while painting on them for an extending period of time.  There will be a final critique session with that great husband critic at the end.  Dancing Poppies, on the studio table, has a background that's building with layers of watercolor pigments.  It's even taken on a golden tone in the upper left area of the painting.

For some reason, I was so busy in the throes of creativity, there are no photos of this piece while the petals were being painted.  Sometimes, it happens like that.  I get a spurt of crazy get-this-going energy and there's no stopping until it's done.  So the completed Dancing Poppies with the tools used along the way.  The value studies, the sample brushstrokes of color, and the color mixing grid all help me through the process to the finish.

A shot of the studio table while work is going on shows my typical set up.  Occasional time-outs are called for some clean up.  It seems that in the flurry of paintbrushes and pigment, things get cluttered and out of sorts.  At the end of the day, I'll bring it all back to tidy again so it won't be an intimidating sight the next morning. 

The Finished Painting

Dancing Poppies, the rule breaker for composition design.  The sunlit leaves weaving their way through at an angle seem to help it work...at least in my mind's eye.

Etsy:  the Christy Sheeler Artist shop and Dancing Poppies listing.

Well, I feel better knowing that Dancing Poppies got its own reveal.  Maybe no one will ever know the difference...but if you're here reading this, it did make a difference!

So what do you think of composition?  Do you like the more traditional or the unusual view better?  Maybe you've never really thought about it before.  This week, here's a challenge:  keep your eye on the look out for art that you enjoy most.  Look for the way the main parts are arranged.  Do you think it's traditional or not?

-Christy

she must make art.

P.S.  To see the blog post about the full process of all four poppies watercolor paintings in this series, click:  Watercolor Poppies Complete Art Process.

Art Studio Update March 2016

Let's chit chat about works in progress

I've been a busy girl, wanting to get it all done now, when there's not enough hours or energy to keep up!  There isn't a specific to-do this for each day.  That probably needs to change.  I have a mental list of tasks and goals but no real game plan for each day.  It feels like a bit of chaos.  

I'm sidetracked so easily!  In fact, I've got quite a bit to share so here we go:

1.  Etsy shop new listings

The final two poppies watercolor paintings are now listed in the ChristySheelerArtist shop on Etsy.
These are the originals, 8" x 10" in size, on 300 lb. Arches cold-press watercolor paper.  

Poppies Sunlit Blooms 2016

Poppies Stand Tall on Etsy

Newly Listed Original Watercolor Painting

Poppies Stand Tall

A more traditional composition of bright red poppies, orange and yellow where the sunlight touches the petals.  It was just before dusk on a late summer day when I took the reference photos in a neighbor's garden.  The poppy's vivid yet soft, tissue paper petals always capture my attention.

Original Watercolor 8" x 10" on Arches 300lb. watercolor paper

Now available on Etsy at ChristySheelerArtist

$250 plus shipping

Copyright 2016 Christy Sheeler Artist All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2016 Christy Sheeler Artist All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2016 Christy Sheeler Artist All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2016 Christy Sheeler Artist All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2016 Christy Sheeler Artist All Rights Reserved.

Poppies Single Watercolor Painting on Etsy

Newly listed on Etsy

Poppies Single

Original Watercolor 8" x 10" on Arches 300lb. watercolor paper

Now available on Etsy at ChristySheelerArtist

$250 plus shipping

Copyright 2016 Christy Sheeler Artist All Rights Reserved.

Christy Sheeler Artist at Society6

Another avenue for my watercolor artwork

It brings me much excitement and joy to share my artwork is uploaded and available to purchase online.

Christy Sheeler Artist on Society6:  A great selection of art design items!!!

My originals are available for purchase on Etsy ChristySheelerArtist now.  This one, titled Poppy Single hasn't been added to the Etsy shop yet...but soon.
In time, I'll have my own website and ready to have them purchased there.

How great would it be to have my art on a tote bag, an iphone case, a coffee cup...

Well, that is reality as of today!

This will be a project in the making...my work is cut out for me.  If there is a painting you've seen here and would really love to have available on the Society6 site, please comment or send me an email!  

                                      

                        Coffee Mug                          Mobile Device Cases                        Throw Pillows



                                           

                     Tote Bag                                        Rug 3 sizes                                  Fine Art Prints  




I am absolutely in LOVE with this Poppy Single artwork, as you can tell... it's the one I chose to take on this adventure.  So, now there are many more to come...

Thank you for visiting today!

You never know when I'll have something new I can't wait to share!!!

Have a fabulous weekend!

-Christy

Watercolor Poppies Complete Art Process

Overview of Poppies Watercolors Series

The inspiration for these paintings began with a neighbor's garden!  Lynn has one of the most green thumbs on our block.  As I've shared before, I keep a close eye tuned to the gardens throughout our little town.  Many a trip, toting one of my kids somewhere and back again, means I can spot the local views for inspiration.  In the past, Lynn has been great with me taking photos of her sunflowers as well.  I remember years ago...photos gone with a hard drive crash...taking some photos of magnolias she was growing in her living room.  Last summer, I visited Lynn's garden when the early evening sun brought out their beautiful glow of oranges and yellows.    The petals are like tissue paper, so delicate and thin.  For my artist's eye, these are just too lovely to resist!  I've looked forward to painting them and found they were worth the wait.  There are a total of four paintings in this series.  I'll be showing photographs from the stages of completion but not always from the same painting.

As I've shared in passing a photo on my phone of my current works in progress, many people have commented that poppies are their favorite as well.  With photos sorted and favorites chosen, I began the process with the value sketches.  The composition is very important in the planning stages.  I must admit I broke some composition rules in two of these paintings.  I did not place the focal poppy where it ought to be BUT I believe I was able to pull it off.  This should not be my regular habit; the unusual composition appeals to me.  My art critic husband is strongly drawn to the more traditional compositions.

I did not want to do the value studies/composition planning!  Like brushing teeth...it doesn't take that long and it's painless, but it sure prevents future problems.  I have been aware that these little quick sketches are important.  I wanted to get right to the painting sooner.  It wasn't torturous and I will begin implementing this in my process on a regular basis.  It's really not THAT bad.

I have been making my sketches directly on tracing paper.  Maybe I ought to be sketching on drawing paper in the sketch book first.  What thought do you have?  I suppose a sketchbook is a longer lasting record and easier to flip through later.  Well, I made the sketches on tracing paper.  I had purchased a thicker tracing paper and this was my chance to try it out.  I think I prefer the thinner weight.  Is it because it's what I am familiar with, that's undecided.  

Sketches are transferred with graphite paper onto the 300 lb. watercolor paper.  This saves the paper from multiple eraser marks and pencil lines indented in the paper.  If you have not made your own graphite paper before, you should give it a try.  You only need a few items and you most likely have them on hand now.  Comment and let me know, I would do a how-to demo to show how it's done.

Poppies Work In Progress 2.11.16

A glimpse of poppies, work in progress

Currently, there are four paintings in various stages of completion.  Today, I'm showing the most recent progress of number 4.  Sorry... right now, that's its title.  It's definitely an unusual composition.  I didn't want to mess with the original photo layout.  I took a risk and broke some rules with this one.  The petals themselves have given me a challenge but it's still coming along.

"Through the dancing poppies stole  A breeze most softly lulling to my soul."  John Keats

There are layers of color built up in the background.  It appears green at a glance, but I've been adding blues and violets.  Sometimes, that bold color gets a little lost once it dries.  In the back of my mind, I'm considering cropping this for a better composition.  That decision will be a tough one.  I'll wait to see what the end piece looks like.  There are certain areas that I enjoy more than others.  Two of the three centers are very close to being complete.  The poppy on the far left has more to be done in defining the petals, shadows, and center.  The fine details around the center still need attention.  Salt crystals still lay on the paper's surface where I wanted more unusual texture.  The salt will be brushed away before I can continue to work the background.

"But pleasures are like poppies spread, You seize the flower, its bloom is shed; Or like the snow falls in the river, A moment whitethen melts for ever."  Robert Burns

I'm keeping this post a bit shorter so I can get back to the painting sooner.  The photo below shows my favorite area...lovely places of pale orange against I may choose this type of composition for Giclee prints.

Begin Again & Try New Things in Watercolor: Poppies

Beautiful Red Poppies

The past few weeks have been spent easing back into the art process with reference photos of poppies.  Winter here continues and I am content to be inside, comfortable and warm.  Even so, I do feel a bit of cabin fever.  The Gurney's seed catalog came this week.  In a few months it will be time to start planning the garden.  So while winter carries on, I'm focusing on garden beauties.  Their petals are as delicate as tissue paper, sunlight defines each bit of crinkle in the petals.

Light - dews- breezes - bloom - and freshness; not one of which has yet been perfected on the canvas of any painter in the world.    - John Constable

In all my nearly 30 years with art (ouch, that's a while!), there are several things I have avoided doing.  Skipping over a step in the planning and executing process is not the best habit to start.  In college, I avoided Art History 101.  I was able to take several other classes like photography and drawing.  Without the Art History, I could not move on to take pottery or painting.  Foolish me!

Advice to that college student me:  Go for it anyway!

Well, the other thing I've avoided is the thumbnail sketch.  It's not a sketch of a thumbnail.  It's just a small sketch (think business card size) with the basic composition, shapes and values.  I've dreaded it and gotten by all these years without it.  But I've wondered how following through and doing it could help me improve my work.

In The Studio: Watercolor Poppies

Poppies in the midst of winter

My fingers have been itching to begin working on poppies.  During the summer months, I watch neighborhood gardens for colorful blooms.  I spotted my neighbor's garden had poppies...lots of beautiful red orange poppies.  With camera in hand, I disappeared for a bit to capture some photos.

I guess I was away from the brushes long enough to feel a little out of shape.  My creative groove has been a bit tough to find again.  Perhaps with each flower it's necessary to get acquainted; the layering of the color, the change in values, the shadows, remembering how the light hits the petals.

The process is going well but it hasn't been as smooth flowing as other paintings in past months.  I've got three more sketches on watercolor paper staying in the poppies theme.  I'll continue on with this one and bring you an update soon!

-Christy