WATERCOLOR LESSON 2
Bird of Paradise with Geri Medway
The vibrant colors and diverse shapes of flowers always add interest to a composition, but there’s no need to restrict yourself to painting flowers in groups. Focus on a single flower to create a delicate floral “portrait,” as Geri Medway has done with this close-up view of a bird of paradise in bloom. The layers of glazes produce deep, rich tones, and the contrast of bright colors against the dark background help make this exotic tropical flower leap off the paper!
STEP 3
LEAVES
Sap green and phthalo blue
STEP 4
BACKGROUND
Sap green, phthalo blue, alizarin crimson, and phthalo green
LIFTING OUT COLOR
Though watercolorists usually “save” the white of the paper when they want pure white, it’s also possible to “lift out” color to lighten the tone. To lift out paint, you simply absorb some of the moisture—and thus the color—of the paint you’ve applied to the paper. While your wash is still damp, use a paper towel, tissue, paintbrush, or dry sponge to dab at or sweep across the wet paint to lift it off. If your paint has already dried, moisten the area you want to lighten with clear water, and then lift off the color with the tissue, brush, or sponge.
1 After sketching the shapes, lay in the initial washes with a large round brush. Start with a thin cadmium yellow light wash for the outer edges of the leaves and some of the central veins. Then deepen the area with a higher concentration of color for the background leaves and what appear to be the “neck,” “beak” outline, and “feathers” of the flower. When the first washes have dried, add cadmium orange to darken the “eye” and the “feathers” of the flower.
2 To create the form of the leaves, wash bright vermilion on the foreground leaves, using both flat and graded washes. Next lay in a graded wash of permanent rose along the flower’s “beak” and on the lower “feathers.” When dry, add a graded wash of ultramarine blue on the beak and some of the “feathers.” Then finish the “feathers” with glazes of cadmium red deep. Finally, glaze peacock blue to cool some areas of the leaves, allowing the color to blend here and there with the yellow underpainting.
3 Glaze the green leaves with a mixture of sap green and phthalo blue, using just enough blue to tone down the green. Continually vary the proportions of each color in the mix to create cooler and warmer areas within the painting. When the paint is dry, apply another glaze to deepen the greens. Lift out color for the veins and soften the leaf edges with a damp brush (see the details on page 25).
4 To finish, wash peacock blue over the cool side of the leaves before glazing another layer of the sap green and phthalo blue mix over the leaves. Glaze the warm areas with cadmium yellow medium and the cool areas with peacock blue. Then add cadmium red deep along the flower’s “neck” and on the “feathers.” Wet the ultramarine blue area of the “beak” and touch in a little sap green. Then push back the background leaves by softening the edges. Finally, paint in the dark background (see “Background Detail” below) to make the flower “pop” forward and to add drama to the entire painting. Stand back from your painting—the flower should seem real enough to touch and smell!
VEINS DETAIL While the paint on the leaves is still wet, use a clean damp brush to lift out color from the veins. Dip your brush in clean water, blot it on a paper towel, and then stroke over the vein area, blotting the paper with a tissue after each stroke. Add a second layer of paint and soften the edges of the leaf’s right side with a glaze of peacock blue.
EDGES DETAIL The edges of the leaves initially look too crisp to be natural, so it’s important to soften the edges. Dip a brush in clean water, stroke it over a paper towel, and then pull the brush along the dark edge of the leaf. Rinse the brush and repeat the procedure until the edges become soft and blurred.
BACKGROUND DETAIL Paint the background with a dark mix of sap green, phthalo blue, alizarin crimson, and phthalo green. While the paint is damp, spray clear water over it and then simply watch the color move. The water pushes away the pigment, shifting the color to create a unique, dynamic design.