Hello, Creative Friend and welcome back to class! Today we are studying the complexity and intricacy of orchids, and finding a way to capture their essence in a loose, gestural way. I've picked a beautiful pink spotted orchid for us! After taking a few moments to gather a few photos to serve as inspiration, we'll dive into understanding the structure of this flower so it makes sense to us, providing a joyous and peaceful process.

Supplies

Gouache: Windsor & Newton, and Arteza

Paper: 325 GSM Black paper

I'll be featuring paper from The Black Sketchbook, designed by artist Niharika, who can be found on Instagram @Niharikagarg. If you don't have access to her specific paper, Legion Black Watercolor Paper is an excellent substitute.

Brushes: Princeton Heritage Series Rounds. It would be best to have three brushes in size 6 and three size 2.

Porcelain Palette or Salad Plate

Cup of Water

Paper Towel to blot

Discussing Supplies:

We'll take a moment to talk through what supplies we'll be using to create our elements, For a fun twist, we'll be painting on black paper which always adds an extra touch of drama to art.

Proper Water Ratios:

Gouache is quite versatile in that whether you use it watered down similar to watercolors, or thicker akin to acrylics, the results will hold either an ethereal quality or rich with texture. We'll walk through several scenarios and I'll help you figure out at what consistency you enjoy working with gouache.

Simple and Compound Leaves

Next we'll mix a color for our first set of leaves, covering two of my favorite beginner technique's: Simple and Compound Strokes.

Fern Leaves:

Ferns make an excellent filler leaf, being both dainty and full of personality. We'll pick a new color and study a few ways to create them.

Palm Leaves:

These leaves are long and slender and add much movement to a composition when used with careful intention. They can also be utilized as more of a wild background element in lower concentration for layered paintings.

Eucalyptus Leaves:

Next, we'll learn how to paint two varieties of eucalyptus which can be used as with focal or filler leaves.

Veining The Eucalyptus:

Showing how by adding a few key strokes, you can add interest to your leaves.

Berries & Rosehips:

Look at how by using different shapes in a composition you naturally create a balanced painting. Berries are such a fantastic element to use on their own for pattern building, or to add gentleness to a composition.

Sprigs:

A very freeform filler element that adds a playful touch to your composition.

Pinwheel cluster

Using the incredibly versatile pinwheel flower structure (as taught in previous watercolor classes) to explore a variety of flowers.

Wild Rose

I show you how the pinwheel structure can be evolved and enlarged to make a wild rose. We'll also cover a but of layering and how by adding different colors we continue to draw the eye inward.

Rose:

We conclude our elements with the majestic rose, practicing our vortex center and the nature of the rose's "cuddling" petals. By adding leaves, we increase interest and movement.

Elaine Lim

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