To read about the meaning behind this drawing or the specific symbolism of each flower, visit this blog post.
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I started with a quick composition sketch on newsprint to work out where the flowers would go in this bouquet. Then, once I had all my research and planning complete, I started on the 19"x25" black paper.
Instead of drawing the outlines of the whole bouquet and then coloring it in, I drew and colored in each flower at a time, as I went. I didn't want to smear away any of the graphite outlines before I got a chance to go back and color them in, and I was also pretty confident that it would look okay/I would get the proportions I wanted, since I had a to-scale newsprint sketch I was working from. I folded the newsprint in half, then in half again; then did the same thing in the other direction, so I had a 4x4 grid. Then I marked my black paper with a dot at the intersection of each of those squares (but didn't draw out the entire grid - so I wouldn't have to erase it later). This kept me from differing too much from the size I wanted to draw each flower, based on my newsprint drawing.
I started with the protea, since it is one of the flowers in the center of the bouquet, and also near the top.
Then I added the gladiolus behind the protea, slightly to the left.
The cattails came next, sticking out behind the right side of the protea.
The astilbe filled in the space between the gladiolus and the cattails. This will be the very top of the bouquet.
Directly underneath the protea, also in the center of the bouquet, was the chocolate ti leaf. Because this is the darkest plant in the bouquet, I wanted it to be in the center, surrounded by lighter flowers, so that it would be visible. Because I was working with a black paper background, I was concerned that making any plants too dark might make them unseeable; I didn't want anything to blend too much into the background so that it wasn't easy to see.
Next, I added the freesia, sticking out on the right side of the bouquet underneath the cattails.
The amaranthus sticks out of the left side of the bouquet at the same place, keeping the bouquet symmetrical.
Underneath the amaranthus, I drew in the gerbera daisy. Underneath that, the jasmine flowers.
And underneath the jasmine, the dahlia flower.
Sticking out on the left side of the bouquet, just to the left of the dahlia, are two tulips.
I then added a small bunch of carnations on the right side of the chocolate ti leaf.
These are the first dozen flowers I drew in. I sketched everything lightly at first, just to get everything placed down. Once all 24 flowers are in place, I will go back over all of them and add more color and more dimension. Check back tomorrow for the pictures of the next 12 flowers.
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I started with a quick composition sketch on newsprint to work out where the flowers would go in this bouquet. Then, once I had all my research and planning complete, I started on the 19"x25" black paper.
Instead of drawing the outlines of the whole bouquet and then coloring it in, I drew and colored in each flower at a time, as I went. I didn't want to smear away any of the graphite outlines before I got a chance to go back and color them in, and I was also pretty confident that it would look okay/I would get the proportions I wanted, since I had a to-scale newsprint sketch I was working from. I folded the newsprint in half, then in half again; then did the same thing in the other direction, so I had a 4x4 grid. Then I marked my black paper with a dot at the intersection of each of those squares (but didn't draw out the entire grid - so I wouldn't have to erase it later). This kept me from differing too much from the size I wanted to draw each flower, based on my newsprint drawing.
I started with the protea, since it is one of the flowers in the center of the bouquet, and also near the top.
Then I added the gladiolus behind the protea, slightly to the left.
The cattails came next, sticking out behind the right side of the protea.
The astilbe filled in the space between the gladiolus and the cattails. This will be the very top of the bouquet.
Directly underneath the protea, also in the center of the bouquet, was the chocolate ti leaf. Because this is the darkest plant in the bouquet, I wanted it to be in the center, surrounded by lighter flowers, so that it would be visible. Because I was working with a black paper background, I was concerned that making any plants too dark might make them unseeable; I didn't want anything to blend too much into the background so that it wasn't easy to see.
Next, I added the freesia, sticking out on the right side of the bouquet underneath the cattails.
The amaranthus sticks out of the left side of the bouquet at the same place, keeping the bouquet symmetrical.
Underneath the amaranthus, I drew in the gerbera daisy. Underneath that, the jasmine flowers.
And underneath the jasmine, the dahlia flower.
Sticking out on the left side of the bouquet, just to the left of the dahlia, are two tulips.
I then added a small bunch of carnations on the right side of the chocolate ti leaf.
These are the first dozen flowers I drew in. I sketched everything lightly at first, just to get everything placed down. Once all 24 flowers are in place, I will go back over all of them and add more color and more dimension. Check back tomorrow for the pictures of the next 12 flowers.
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