If you haven't already started to do this, now would be a good time to follow my lead, and do some "gathering" of your own. For this project, we will be gathering reference material from a garden -- your own or a friend's, or even a botanical garden. If you're doing this part of the lesson in the middle of the winter, or have no access to a garden -- buy yourself some roses and do this inside where it's cozy.
So, find a garden (with flowers blooming!) Walk around and take lots of photos.
After you've taken a bunch of pictures, get your sketchbook and pencils, find a place to sit, choose a flower or two, and start sketching . . .
Draw your flower in pencil or pen, whichever you prefer . . .
Add some color with colored pencils and/or watercolor pencils . . .
Now, you have plenty of reference material -- photos and sketches -- to help you with your painting.
PAINTING CHALLENGE -- Painting Roses with a Plaid Underpainting
In this project, we'll use the grid as a design tool rather than a drawing aid. On your 11" x 14" watercolor paper, draw a grid of horizontal and vertical lines, approx. 3" apart, in pencil.
Paint one or two vertical stripes a very pale Yellow. Paint one vertical stripe a very pale Rose. Leave one or two vertical stripes unpainted.
After that dries, paint one or two horizontal stripes a very pale Yellow. Paint one horizontal stripe a very pale Rose. Paint the top horizontal stripe a very pale Blue.
Try to keep this underpainting very pale, because we are painting pale peach roses on top.
When this underpainting is totally dry, draw two or three roses, in pencil -- with some stems and leaves. Try to keep these roses in the bottom 2/3 or 1/2 of your paper, since these will be your foreground roses.
Now, mix up a coral on your palette, using the Rose and the Yellow. Ignore the grid, and paint the roses. Leave parts of the petals unpainted. On some of the larger petals, grade the wash, so you get a nice variation of value -- thus, giving your petals form. Paint some of the shapes in the centers of your roses a very intense coral.
Now, mix up two different greens, and paint the leaves and stems. Paint the thorns with Burnt Sienna.
After you've painted the stems and leaves, work on the background. First, draw a few more vertical and horizontal lines in pencil. This time, do not draw over the roses that you've painted.
You should have some 1" stripes and some 2" stripes, going both ways in the background. Now, mix up a wash of Quinacridone gold. Paint three of the vertical stripes with this gold. When that dries, paint one horizontal stripe with that gold. Remember -- don't paint over the roses, when painting these stripes.
Now, mix up a wash of Quinacridone Rose (or Permanent Rose). With this wash, paint three vertical stripes -- keeping it in the background. When that dries, paint two horizontal stripes with the Rose.
Mix up a wash of Cobalt Blue. With this Blue, paint three or four vertical stripes. When that dries, paint three horizontal stripes with the Blue.
If you like the looks of your painting, you could stop right there Or, you can proceed with another layer of roses.
Draw one or two smaller roses in the background, with stems and leaves.
Then, mix up a wash of Quinacridone Burnt Orange or Burnt Sienna. Use this wash to paint all the negative shapes. In other words, you will paint this wash over everything except the roses and leaves. By doing this, the background roses will emerge, but will still look like they're further back than the foreground roses.
Now, ignore the grid again, and paint the background roses, stems, and leaves.
Now, shift to the background again. Draw your last vertical and horizontal lines with pencil. So, you will divide all the 2" stripes in half. You should end up with 1" squares in your background. (If it doesn't work out perfectly, no worries.)
Paint some Blue vertical stripes, and some Blue horizontal stripes -- remembering to keep these Blue stripes in the background.
To finish, mix up a dark Blue, and paint some of the background squares with this dark color.
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