I’m showing my process as I paint through this mass of petals that make up the head of the November birth flower. I’m adding my updates to the top, so if you’re interested, start reading at the bottom of this page.
Update! I made a 2 minute video hoping I could encourage those of you who love to paint to give the chrysanthemum painting a try.
As soon as the mum was finished, I took it to the scanner and computer and got to work cleaning up the blossoming mum up petal by petal. Then brought in the stem and leaves I had painted earlier and added them to the flower. I'm so happy with the results. The November birth flower has been released to my listings at Etsy.
I woke up this Saturday morning excited to have the day to finish this painting and to release November birth flower by the end of the day on Sunday. Lots of work between now and then; but lots of fun and creative energy. It was too early to use natural lighting on this photo so the color isn't quite right. I am trying to give the center a slight pale green tinge.
Yikes! This is getting exciting, but the day is filling up and it looks like I’ll have to come back to this tomorrow.
This is what the painting looked like before I closed shop for the evening last night. I wished for a block of time to finish because I am beginning to see the painting take shape. A good time to stop, take inventory and plan ahead about the steps I want to take next. I searched for more chrysanthemum photos before closing my eyes to sleep.
I want to take a break for a while. I've looked over the petals I plan to paint next and see some that need more defining. So, I'm getting a little fatigued and will come back later. In the mean time I thought you might like to know the supplies I'm using. I posted that pic at the bottom.
A friend asked how long it would take to finish this painting. I really don't know. I do know it took a day to get the drawing to a place where I believed it would work. And from the painting above, to the one above that was about 45 minutes of work. It's going really slow now because I'm not sure how where I am part of the time in the tangle of petals, so I keep working on the overall drawing a little to be sure and define every part of it. If I don't I won't know how to paint it. I'm getting more certain of how I want the center to be as I go.
Oh boy! All those petals. I know I can do it, but I don't know how long it will take and if I will like it once it's done. But here's to the process. I will update as I paint.
The paper I'm using is by Dick Blick. It's hot press, (smooth) bright white and I'm learning to love this smooth paper. The watercolors I use for all my paintings are by Daniel Smith. You can purchase them here. My brush is awesome. It's new to me, and I've been wanting to try it for a long time. All that tiny detail plus all the wide spaces on the petals are painted with the same brush. It's a round Kolinsky sable size 3. You can see it here. OH!! And last but not least my hand crafted pallet is by Sylvan Clay Works.