Let's Paint Scottish Wildflowers Together!

Scotland has a rich variety of terrains.... from the rugged Black and the Red Cuillin mountains on Skye, The Wild northern point, the rough seas of the north- eastern coast, bleak and beautiful wilderness in central Highlands, to the gentle arable lands of East Lothian, in the Lowlands, where I live.

We’re going to be creating a quadtych of Scottish woodland flowers. This was inspired by an off-cut of one of my paintings which I had cut into a bookmark for my daughter. I realised that often I love the randomly cropped pieces more than the full design!

Whether you dip into only a few minutes of a class, watch it without painting for relaxation or fully hunker down and immerse yourself in it, this is meant for you. :0) This is why my followers often mention feeling relaxed when engaged when in one of my classes…. I also use original music, written by my partner Jazz The Glass or myself…. Or both! (deets in 'Project & Resources')

So, I took that idea and developed this class, which celebrates intermingling of wildflower elements capturing that ‘off-cut’- cropped feel!

Do you want to learn a little (more) about Scottish Wildflowers? Do you want to broaden your watercolour knowledge and create movement and expression in your art? Do you like spending restful time doodling and adding little details to your projects? ….and heck, who doesn’t!.... then this manageable class is made for you!

We’re going to be creating a characterful ‘tribute’ to the Cuckoo flower, also called Lady’s Smock or Mayflower. It's named after the Cuckoo bird which arrives in early June, where we live in South East Scotland.

Subtitles are available in English, Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese! :O)

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Who Is This Class For?

It's for beginner to intermediate level. I've designed this to be inclusive to New-to-painting students, as you can dip in and out of lessons, following the lessons where we paint the flowers alone, without feeling you have to go on to the lessons about adding details. You could also choose one flower to study. Which is your fave?
It's for students wanting to go the next step by learning how to add little shadows and lines to create form.
It's for those of you who want to become familiar with Scottish Wildflowers, especially in this class 3 Woodland wildflowers
Those looking for an achievable, relaxing painting session.
Whilst the class does require fine motor skills, I have aimed to break each flower up into small components, so that if you have health/disability challenges, you can go at your own speed, and (as above), concentrate on learning a little about one particular flower. It may also be, that this class suits some Disabled and ill students, as smaller movements mean that you can rest your arm on the table, and the dryer technique means that there's no hurry to keep motifs wet.
And lastly, to provide a nurturing space where you can relax, with some doodling and gentle music!

My 'Mission Statement' is to provide quality classes which are:

Informative; Easy but effective: Using newly discovered techniques in a variety of media to create results which if painted the 'traditional' way might take a much longer time to achieve.
Relaxing: In a former life I was a therapist, off and on, for over 30 years, so adding relaxing elements to my classes feels really important to me. We all struggle with the onslaughts of life, and if I can provide even a few moments of relaxed quality time, then my job is done!
Fun!: I firmly believe we develop our confidence and skill most when we are engaging in a fun activity. Frustration is a natural part of learning. However, getting caught up in the frustration for too long can then lead to a creative block, as we become head-led, rather than heart-led. I've worked with so many clients in the past with this process, so I feel really passionate about bringing this ethos into my teaching too :O)

What We'll be painting Together:

We'll be creating 4 little 'ditsies' of these three beautiful and varied wildflowers, using both small swift expressive movements and slower, more deliberate ones.

We'll then start to build up tiny details which make a whole big difference to your flowers!

By the end of the class you will have 4 little rectangles of joy!

What skills we will be covering in this class:

Timing - this is actually a cool skill to develop, as you can learn how to move around your painting and, as certain areas dry, work on something else. It also means developing the understanding of how quickly paint dries for you, as this varies due to the size of your brush, paper, how much water you use down to the even the ambient temperature of your work-space.
Control - Painting ditsies/smaller flowers can be more of a challenge than larger flowers, but in some ways, especially with this class, it can be hugely enjoyable and relaxing to work more slowly and deliberately. Although we will be incorporating some swifter movements too.
How much water to use on our brush. Very difficult to master! In this class we’re working with a much dryer brush than in my other classes.
How to take that extra step - by adding a second ‘layer’ of watercolour detail, we start to elevate our work and bring detail and visual depth to it. Our use of a pigma micron and white gel pen in this class help with this too.
Weaving & Trailing - aiming for abandon, despite this being a more detailed process than other classes of mine, we can still keep fluidity, and aim for that sense of these flowers sharing the same space, intermingling and flowing into each other’s spaces.

Paper: I used Fabriano Artistico brilliant white Hot Pressed 5-7 inch block Fabriano 5 x 7 block You could use Jackson's Jackson's Hot Pressed 5 x 7 block or any of your favourite watercolour paper. * I find small motifs easier to paint on smooth hot pressed paper, as above.
Washi Tape (or any tape you usually use for taping off) - 8 mm or smaller, or use a 15mm tape, half on, half off the page.
Small filbert, round or flat brush - Size 2 or smaller. (I used a Billy Showell Eradicator Brush Used mostly for lifting paint to make corrections to paper, but I really get on with for fine detail painting too :O) and an Escoda travel brush, size 2 Escoda Round travel Brush
Paints:
French Ultra Marine (or nearest blue),
Perylene Red (Daniel Smith),
New Gamboge or Pure Yellow,
White: I didn't use this as I chose to use my white gel pen, but you could create the marks with a tiny amount of white watercolour or gouache.
Burnt Umber: (This can be used instead of mixing the 3 primary colours together to create a brown)
Green Gold (Daniel Smith) or nearest warm bright green, or mix yellow into your choice of green.
Pigma Micron 01 Sepia Pigma Micron - Sepia
White Gel pen (optional)

Why Did I Choose These particular Wildflowers?

I chose these 3 flowers intuitively. All three have a deep meaning for me. They also either grow wildly in my garden or very close to my home.

Cleavers (also know as goosegrass, Sweetheart and, here in Scotland, Stickywilly) Growing up in the North West of England, we called them Sticky Willow (maybe viewed as more polite haha) So, they remind me of early childhood and trying to aim Cleavers at my brothers, so they got stuck in their clothing or hair! I am drawn to them as an artist, as they're so pleasing to paint! :O)

Yellow Pimpernel. Yellow Pimpernel is like the shy cousin of Scarlet Pimpernels. Unlike Scarlet Pimpernels which like the sun, Yellow Pimpernels prefer damp woodland and hedgerows, and yet it's a robust plant, known for its healing properties. In Particular in the treatment of liver and gallbladder problems by the Ancient Greeks, and in medieval Europe, to ward off evil spirits, and was often used in spells. Yellow flowers in general have been revered as flowers of the sun. Uplifting, gently supportive.

Wood Forget-Me-Nots This has always been one of my favourite flowers, and sketching this woodland variety has been a total joy. In Scotland they grow only in the southern areas and love damp woodland just as Yellow Pimpernel does. They flower slightly later than Field Forget-Me-Nots, and are slightly larger. The area of the body most associated with Forget Me Nots is the lungs, and syrups would be made to treat lung complaints in the past. Forget-me-nots were worn by lovers so that, if parted, they would always remember each other. My eldest, not realising my affinity to forget me nots, bought me an exquisite bracelet with one single Forget Me Not flower encased in silver. Gifts from loved ones are always treasure :O)

What are your favourite wildflowers? I'd love to know... so please feel free to share in "Discussions"

Lorna Bates

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