"28 Years" - Year #12

For general information about this 22"x30" colored pencil drawing, see this blog post.
For more information about the flower symbolism I used (Years 1-14) and life events that led me to select those particular flowers, see this blog post.

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For my 12th year, I drew azalea and coriander.

• Coriander: symbol of hidden worth/concealed merit and lust
• Azalea: symbol of womanhood, fragility, gratitude, passion, femininity, and softness

As always, I first drew outlines of the plants on black paper:

I used these two botanical drawings as reference while I worked (I do not own either of these; I found them on Google):

I sketched in lightly the colors of the azalea and coriander plants.

Then I started going back and adding more color and more detail. I started with the oregano leaves - the part of the oregano plant most are most familiar with. Then I did the leaves for the azalea in a darker/bluer green.

I next added color and detail to the flowers - the little oregano petals, and the bold azalea flowers, with their distinct markings.

Here is the drawing so far, with 12 years complete. 16 more to go!

"28 Years" - Year #11

For general information about this 22"x30" colored pencil drawing, see this blog post.
For more information about the flower symbolism I used (Years 1-14) and life events that led me to select those particular flowers, see this blog post.

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I decided to symbolize my 11th year with horseshoe geranium and laurel.

• Horseshoe Geranium: symbol of folly and stupidity
• Laurel: symbol of success, ambition, triumph, and royal status

First I drew outlines of the plants on black paper:

I used these two botanical drawings as reference while I worked on this piece (I do not own either of these; I found them on Google):

I sketched in with several colors how the drawing would look, making sure to emphasize things that were important to this drawing, such as the "horseshoe" markings on the geranium leaves, and where the highlights on the flowers would go.

Then I went through and added details and more colors, starting with the geranium petals and then the geranium leaves, and finally the little white-pink laurel flowers.

Here is the entire drawing so far. 11 "mini-drawings" done; 17 to go!

"28 Years" - Year #10

For general information about this 22"x30" colored pencil drawing, see this blog post.
For more information about the flower symbolism I used (Years 1-14) and life events that led me to select those particular flowers, see this blog post.

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I decided to symbolize my 10th year with sunflower and oregano.

• Sunflower: symbol of devotion, adoration, haughtiness, power, loyalty, strong bonds between friends, seeking positivity and strength, good luck, and nourishing self and others
• Oregano: symbol of substance and birth

First I drew outlines of the plants on black paper:

These are the two botanical drawings I looked at for reference while I drew (I do not own these images; I found them on Google):

I lightly sketched in the colors of the sunflower and then the oregano, and then erased the graphite pencil lines to leave only the colored pencil sketch.

Then I pressed harder with the colored pencils to give deeper, more saturated colors, and to start adding in details. I did the oregano first, and then the sunflower.

Here is the entire drawing so far. 10 complete, 18 to go!

Lauren's Custom Watercolor Bouquet Painting

I recently had an order from this Etsy listing in my shop for another custom watercolor bouquet painting. This one was ordered by a bridesmaid for the bride, and given as a wedding gift. I made a little certificate for the bridesmaid to print out and give her friend, and then after the wedding when the bride's photographs came in, the bride emailed me a picture of her bouquet to work from.

(Side note: Some of the photos below have weird shadowy lines across them... I don't know why, but when I try to take photos with my phone when I'm working on artwork in the basement, I frequently have this problem. I don't know if it is an issue with my phone, or with the flickering fluorescent lights downstairs, but it's really annoying. I often had to try several times to take a picture, testing different angles, to see if I could get a shot with as few of those weird shadows as possible.)

Because my last custom watercolor bouquet painting went so well, I did a similar process for this one. I printed out the photo to size for the 8"x10" paper I had to paint on, cut out the bouquet, and traced it onto the watercolor paper. Then I sketched in details of where the flowers and leaves were, without that traced outline.

Then I started layering soft colors, just to block out where all the colors would go, using a mostly wet-on-wet technique (meaning that all the edges stayed "fuzzy," and blended into each other within the outline of the whole bouquet).

Then I went through with more saturated color, to get down the deep reds and oranges and greens and purples in this bouquet.

It took several layers to build up this color - and in some places I worried that I used too many layers. Instead of just "going big" from the beginning with highly saturated color, I built it up too gradually, giving it more of a muddy effect. The oranges in particular had this problem. Some of the leafy green part of the bouquet also got too dark, and I wanted to lighten it up a bit.

Enter the acrylic paints. Since watercolor is translucent, adding more layers on top of dark colors can not lighten it up. You need something opaque, like special opaque watercolors, or acrylic. I used acrylic.

I mixed some orange and red together to go over the bright flowers that needed more brightness, and I used white (mixed with green, or other colors), to add in some highlights, especially to the little branches of green leaves. I tried to keep the acrylic paint soft (blending it into the watercolor with water) so that it wouldn't stand out too much and so that the painting would keep its watercolor effect.

And here it is - the finished 8"x10" painting! I used masking tape to keep it flat against my gatorboard while I painted. At this point, I peeled the tape off, and cut the paper down to size (I was using a 9"x12" piece of paper, so that I could put tape on the outer edges like that). Because some of the tape peeled up as the paper was wet, it was not as flat as I had hoped. I had to flatten it more with an iron. A few minutes with heat, and then a few days under a pile of heavy books, and the painting was more or less flat again.

If you are interested in your own custom painting (or drawing! - I can do this with colored pencils as well, if that's more your style), check out my Etsy shop.

Custom Watercolor Bouquet Painting
Custom Colored Pencil Drawing