A Simplified Way to Learn Brush Technique!

 

Sometimes experimenting, without concern about the actual results, can lead to effective new techniques and valuable insights!

 

 

As I was preparing a sample painting for the students in my weekly Flower Painting Class, I decided to experiment with a monochromatic (single color) scheme.  I used two angled brushes, one for white and one for blue. The surface was simply a sheet of canvas from my canvas pad.

The colors I chose were:

 

 Ultramarine Blue

Cobalt Blue Light

Titanium White

a bit of Soft Mixing White

and that's it!

 

Here are some of the results:

 

It was great fun creating lost and found edges, depicting all the striations and color/value changes, and capturing the hollow in the center of the blossom!

 

I tried to record the actual progression of each blossom throughout the painting session.  By the way, the flower that was my subject was pink! That way, I had to ignore color and only pay attention to value, edges, and form.

 

There are just a few images for the first flower since it was quickly done, there are several more for the second flower since it was more involved, and there are a few of the bud.

The initial drawing was roughly sketched in a water soluble colored pencil - which was absorbed into the paint.

Simple start - Use dry brush technique to create the of silhouette for first flower.

Use edge of brush to pull the outline into the flower area, to remove the outline.

 

 

Add dimension to base of flower and continue petal work. 
(Wait to add the final dark/depth in center of blossom.)

 



Begin second blossom with dry brush technique. Keep center of blossom high to angle flower downward.
 



Add foreground petal,
which is coming directly toward viewer, to the left flower.
Work on defining shape of petals, remember to pull outline of silhouette into the petal shapes to eliminate the outline.

 
 


Add large dab of Ultramarine blue in center of blossom.



Begin to Spread daub of Ultramarine Blue upward and outward.

 

 

Spread strokes outward and upward to edge of petals. Be patient and think before adding any strokes. Some will be pulled from outer edge inward, and others from center area outward, to create the blossom.

 

Add lighter strokes to petals on left of lower flower.



Continue to add shadow, light, and form to each petal.

Add Ultramarine Blue to center of blossom on right.
Take a short break from first two blossoms,
returning to them later.
Begin bud, with simple dry brush strokes.

Add dimension to bud through value changes and edges.
Notice all lost and found edges and surfaces on all blossoms.
Clarify near petals, make lighter.
Add dark accents to edges of near petals.
Added a white background so I could clean up edges easily.



Bulk up top of the bud, so it better resembles this species.

Look over all areas, back up and view as a whole, compare petal angles with center of blossoms, but leave some "twisting angles" so they look natural, not stiff. Stamen will be added later.

Final advice:
USE ENOUGH PAINT
WIPE BRUSH CLEAN BETWEEN STROKES
STROKE ONCE, WIPE AND RELOAD BRUSH
FOCUS ON VARIETY OF EDGES
CHECK DRAWING OFTEN
WORK FOR DIMENSIONALITY
ENJOY THE PROCESS

(*I also created a visual aid with various means of creating petals, showing steps that can be generally followed, but that will have to be in a future blog post.)