"Reservation" Colored Pencil Drawing

This recent 8"x10" colored pencil drawing is of "4 o'clock flowers" - so named because they open up every day around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Since they only open up briefly every day, they symbolize reservation (a.k.a. shyness - not the booking you might make at a local restaurant). I used Strathmore black paper and Prismacolor brand colored pencils to complete this drawing.

First, I started with a light sketch of where the flowers would go on the paper, marking out which colors I wanted to go where.

Then, once I had my plan in place, I started going through and adding depth and dimension. On black paper, you make something lighter and brighter by adding more pigment (to contrast it against the black), so the more layers I added the brighter the flowers looked. Areas I wanted to remain darker or in shadow I added less colored pencil to, so they would let more of the black paper show through.

Prismacolor pencils are great at blending colors together, which was perfect for the flowers that had multiple colors on one petal - like the first flower I did below, which was both pink and white.

Once I had all the flowers colored in lighter and brighter, I started adding detail to the background as well, highlighting certain leaves and stems where the light would hit, and leaving others in shadow.

I'm very excited how this one turned out! The pinks, yellows, oranges, and whites pop so well against the black paper, and are just the colors to bring some beauty to what has been, for many, a really tough year.

Here are some close-up shots of the finished drawing: