flower experiments

5.5x3.5in ink and acrylic on chipboard

I don’t like wasting paint, so when I have some left I always paint pieces of paper with random color backgrounds.. I had a piece of chipboard handy, so on the acrylic went. I didn’t gessoed (white paint) it before and now I see why a layer of primer is important. It was like the burgundy and blue were getting sucked into the material.

5x7in watercolor on paper

Since the background layer turned dark, I had to go with white for the composition. I also wanted to do an invert effect of last weeks flower (pictured on the left)

The effect was somber, lifeless in some ways. Like frozen flowers. But I do appreciate the movement and variety of the flowers themselves.
I enjoyed the negative painting aspect of it and creating layers by adding the white shading.

It was a good experiment, I see that flowers can also be sad. But I still favor the colorful, happy ones.

Here is a quick glimpse at the process:

Another little bouquet of flowers for you!