LESSON IX - Part 1: Sketchbook Exercises & Color Studies for the color Violet

1.  FLOWERS - Small "Violet/Purple" Studies 

 - Do a contour drawing, in pen, of a bouquet, which contains some purple flowers.  Color some of them with watercolor pencils . . . 

- Do another contour drawing in pen -- this time of a single purple flower.  Color with watercolor pencils.  If you like, you can do this drawing on top of a watercolor underpainting, like I did here.

- Try drawing some "purple" flowers in a garden.  Use pencil for your drawing, and then color with watercolor and watercolor pencils.

- Using a purple pen (that is not waterproof -- like a Flair marker or an Elegant Writer), do a contour drawing of some flowers (they don't have to be purple flowers).  Then, touch some of the lines with a wet brush, to activate the ink.

- Draw some simple flowers, in pencil.  Fill up your page with shapes.  Then, mingle some purples within the petals.  Use some of the combinations that I recommended in the intro to this lesson.

- Do an orange-line drawing of some irises, and then mingle your purples within the shapes.

 2.  FLOWER DOODLES -- Draw and color some doodles of purple and violet flowers, using pens and markers.  Use mine for reference, or find some picture references of your own . . .

3.  PEOPLE  -- Color/Charcoal Studies (using a 2-color scheme, Violet and Burnt Sienna).  Find an old photograph, in black & white or sepia-toned.  Do a pencil drawing of it, and then do a value-painting on top of the pencil, using just Burnt Sienna for the warm parts and skin, and a Violet color for the cool areas and the areas in shadow.  Try to leave the white of the paper for your lights.  You can mix the Burnt Sienna and Violet together for your darks.  After that is dry, come back into your drawing with charcoal, to restate some lines and add some darks.  And, you can even use some white chalk or pastel or colored pencil, to add some highlights.

4.  SCAVENGER HUNT WITH YOUR CAMERA -- Grab your camera and find some purple/violet/lavender/lilac flowers to take pictures of.  Find them in your own garden, your neighborhood or friends' gardens, botanical gardens, florist shop, etc.  This might be tough, if it is winter right now.  In that case, maybe you could buy yourself some flowers, bring them home, arrange them in a vase, and take some photos.  This is fun to do, and will give you lots of references for paintings in the future.  

These pictures were all taken at the Denver Botanical Gardens . . . 

5.  FRUIT --  Do a few small color studies of purple fruit, like plums and grapes.